BT's column on Mulkey's tirade

[NMSooner'80]

http://newsok.com/kim-mulkey-losing-a-game-losing-your-dignity/article/3778781


I'm somewhat surprised. I figured he'd write about how mean it was for OU fans to stick around to root for Louisville. But I thought I'd share the link, just for the sake of discussion.

 

[LDMTULSA]

Have to agree with the article. Her actions and press conference were a total embarrassment to her, her team and Baylor University. I'll be very surprised if she is not slapped by the Big 12, the NCAA and Baylor. She certainly deserves to be.

 

[tycat947]

The important thing to realize is that you have to HAVE dignity BEFORE you can lose it!

 

[j2d2]

The womens' basketball officials are a disgrace and a shame. No matter how bad they are nothing is done although there are supposedly "reviews" of officials. The free beatings, sluggings and bangs in that game were a disgusting-so bad that they stopped showing what was going on in detail to Griner. If what Mulkey did was what is necessary to draw attention to this matter, then that is just another indication of what needs to be done. Sorry behavior but brought about by even sorrier officiating.

 

[35TangoTango]

The womens' basketball officials are a disgrace and a shame. No matter how bad they are nothing is done although there are supposedly "reviews" of officials. The free beatings, sluggings and bangs in that game were a disgusting-so bad that they stopped showing what was going on in detail to Griner. If what Mulkey did was what is necessary to draw attention to this matter, then that is just another indication of what needs to be done. Sorry behavior but brought about by even sorrier officiating.

This post seems to me to be extremely ill-informed and inaccurate. There were no free beatings and sluggings in that game. If you think that Mulkey's post-game rant was justified, you pretty much a minority of one. And all those calls down the stretch? Repeated replays showed pretty much all of them to be correct.

I particularly liked it in the post-game presser when Mulkey challenged the reporters, "Do you think that was a good call? Do you think it was a good call?", and some reporter replied "I thought it was a good call".

Mulkey should be fined for her comments and given a one or two game suspension from the next NCAA tournament.

 

[badger]

I really thought I would enjoy Baylor losing more. Now that everyone is coming out of the woodwork around the country as a Baylor hater it just doesn't seem cool anymore.

I know that it's completely uncharacteristic of me, but maybe it's time to lay off Baylor. Aside from a few moments of brilliance -- RG3's Heisman, those Elite Eights, those womens bball national championships --- they have been mediocre. Unquestionably mediocre.

Back in the early aughts when I visited their campus for a convention, I talked to a Baylor student about their one Big 12 victory the season before against Colorado. She said it was a completely different campus... for one week. Then they went back to losing.

What other BCS conference program has to live in fear that their successful coaches will be poached season after season? Even the Internet haters would be sad if Scott Drew left, methinks.

Their adidas uniforms are hideous (any of them, pick one). Their womens basketball coach is hysterically and embarrassingly crazy. Their Dr. Pepper is fresh, but footbal stadium is far off-campus.

They're Baylor. Poor Baylor.

 

[cowboysooner]

Saw a talking heads show last night where Bruce Pearl, Katz and the boys discussed the Baylor game. They all were saying that the game was completely out of hand physical and that the officiating was going to have to starting allowing for freedom of movement, or they would kill the girls game.

They basically agreed with the proposition that Griner got mugged.

While I agree with this, I still deplore Mulkey's post game antics. If she wants to change the game, the post game interview isn't the place or time. It belittled the achievement of the Louisville kids and was wrong.

 

[BlackwellSooner]

Mulkey should be fined for her comments and given a one or two game suspension from the next NCAA tournament.

I suspect (hope!) that not only will the NCAA but the conference and Baylor itself will impose stiff fines. Since she could laugh off fines (she basically invited fines with her opening comment), hopefully a few games suspension may make her rethink shooting off her yap...

 

[SoonerNorm]

Saw a talking heads show last night where Bruce Pearl, Katz and the boys discussed the Baylor game. They all were saying that the game was completely out of hand physical and that the officiating was going to have to starting allowing for freedom of movement, or they would kill the girls game.

They basically agreed with the proposition that Griner got mugged.

While I agree with this, I still deplore Mulkey's post game antics. If she wants to change the game, the post game interview isn't the place or time. It belittled the achievement of the Louisville kids and was wrong.

If the refs really were that bad (I didn't see the game so I have no idea), it is certainly understandable that Mulkey, the team, and their fans were very upset (I'm still made over what happened when we played Oregon in football a few years ago) but, every coach should know the best thing they can say is nothing, regardless of how bad the officiating was. Kim never has been known as one who kept her thoughts to herself. She will very possibly be fined.

 

[MsProudSooner]

If the refs really were that bad (I didn't see the game so I have no idea), it is certainly understandable that Mulkey, the team, and their fans were very upset (I'm still made over what happened when we played Oregon in football a few years ago) but, every coach should know the best thing they can say is nothing, regardless of how bad the officiating was. Kim never has been known as one who kept her thoughts to herself. She will very possibly be fined.

I was sitting in the last row of the club level seats, so I wasn't in the best position to really see how physical it was. But, what ever happened to the philosophy of getting a Technical early in a game to get the officials attention?

 

[sybarite]

These same talking heads were saying that Griner didn't foul on the last play, which was nonsense. Nobody mugged Griner. They did remain so close that she couldn't turn around with the ball without contacting someonel. It was a very unique way of playing in that they were so close that Griner couldn't move. But, they weren't mugging her like Baylor has mugged some players. Sims was doing worse out front.

When you have two players standing within six inches of Griner wherever she goes, somebody should be open. Why they continued to try to go through Griner rather than hitting on of the other McDonald's All-Americans who should have been wide open was the real dilemma of this game. If these other players should have been All Big Twelve, as Kim complained, why not use them when they are essentially unguarded? There were enough holes in that defense that Mulkey's daughter could have scored. But, they didn't even try. It was the worst offensive coaching that I have seen this year.

 

[SoonerNorm]

These same talking heads were saying that Griner didn't foul on the last play, which was nonsense. Nobody mugged Griner. They did remain so close that she couldn't turn around with the ball without contacting someonel. It was a very unique way of playing in that they were so close that Griner couldn't move. But, they weren't mugging her like Baylor has mugged some players. Sims was doing worse out front.

When you have two players standing within six inches of Griner wherever she goes, somebody should be open. Why they continued to try to go through Griner rather than hitting on of the other McDonald's All-Americans who should have been wide open was the real dilemma of this game. If these other players should have been All Big Twelve, as Kim complained, why not use them when they are essentially unguarded? There were enough holes in that defense that Mulkey's daughter could have scored. But, they didn't even try. It was the worst offensive coaching that I have seen this year.

I can't ever recall you defending the refs before. Is this a belated April Fools joke?

 

[sybarite]

I can't ever recall you defending the refs before. Is this a belated April Fools joke?

As I said on another post much earlier, I actually thought the officiating was biased against Louisville late in the game enabling the Baylor comeback.

 

[tycat947]

I really thought I would enjoy Baylor losing more. Now that everyone is coming out of the woodwork around the country as a Baylor hater it just doesn't seem cool anymore.

I know that it's completely uncharacteristic of me, but maybe it's time to lay off Baylor. Aside from a few moments of brilliance -- RG3's Heisman, those Elite Eights, those womens bball national championships --- they have been mediocre. Unquestionably mediocre.

Back in the early aughts when I visited their campus for a convention, I talked to a Baylor student about their one Big 12 victory the season before against Colorado. She said it was a completely different campus... for one week. Then they went back to losing.

What other BCS conference program has to live in fear that their successful coaches will be poached season after season? Even the Internet haters would be sad if Scott Drew left, methinks.

Their adidas uniforms are hideous (any of them, pick one). Their womens basketball coach is hysterically and embarrassingly crazy. Their Dr. Pepper is fresh, but footbal stadium is far off-campus.

They're Baylor. Poor Baylor.

Oh Badger! Come back, come back! It's not too late to turn back now!!!

:ez-roll:

 

[AustinTXSooner]

As I said on another post much earlier, I actually thought the officiating was biased against Louisville late in the game enabling the Baylor comeback.

I agree. The players face-guarding Griner were just trying to put their arms straight up in the air. Griner was the one trying to move their arms out of the way. The player behind Griner was getting every bit as much as she was giving, if not more.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I'm usually pretty hard on officials and what coach hasn't lost a game because of poor calls. Most of the time they even up pretty well. The teams hurt most by bad calls are those where teams like West Virginia and UCLA are allowed to get away with their thug ball.

Basketball officials have a tough job. Lot of calls that someone is going to be mad at you no matter what you call.

But Mulkey's behavior after the game was nothing more than poor loser antics. I suspect, that having a very strong and physical team, she could care a red rat's rear about officiating when she was riding high. Certainly she didn't object to the mugging by Sims out front game after game.

 

[SoonerNorm]

These same talking heads were saying that Griner didn't foul on the last play, which was nonsense. Nobody mugged Griner. They did remain so close that she couldn't turn around with the ball without contacting someonel. It was a very unique way of playing in that they were so close that Griner couldn't move. But, they weren't mugging her like Baylor has mugged some players. Sims was doing worse out front.

When you have two players standing within six inches of Griner wherever she goes, somebody should be open. Why they continued to try to go through Griner rather than hitting on of the other McDonald's All-Americans who should have been wide open was the real dilemma of this game. If these other players should have been All Big Twelve, as Kim complained, why not use them when they are essentially unguarded? There were enough holes in that defense that Mulkey's daughter could have scored. But, they didn't even try. It was the worst offensive coaching that I have seen this year.

Any coach in the country would be happy with an offense that scored 81 points. What they wouldn't be happy with is a defense that gave up 82 points.

 

[oketex]

Guys, I started out ref college games in the old Southwest Conference, working women's basket ball. Back then the game was just sub-par, the ladies were really bad and it made officiating hard because there was a point in the game you just let stuff go in order to get the game over. With that said, I think the women's game is outstanding, while the officiating has taken a turn for the worst. It seems that this year it is as bad as I have ever seen officiating.

Now, let me say that I think the wicked witch of Waco deserved a T for her actions, both coaches had complaints, but the witch from Waco has gotten by with so much for so long she thinks she deserves the calls. I will make a prediction, next her she will get hammered by the officials, there are make up calls even though they say not, I did it for 25 yrs and I know if I made a mistake I worked hard to get the next one right but sometimes it seemed like a make up call. Remember when the next season gets under way the wicked witch from Waco will get her come upen's because of her remarks at the end of the game, officials don't forget.

 

[sybarite]

Any coach in the country would be happy with an offense that scored 81 points. What they wouldn't be happy with is a defense that gave up 82 points.

With Louisville ignoring several players, Baylor should have scored 100.

Incidentally, where did I defend officials?

 

[Sweetest OU Girl]

The womens' basketball officials are a disgrace and a shame. No matter how bad they are nothing is done although there are supposedly "reviews" of officials. The free beatings, sluggings and bangs in that game were a disgusting-so bad that they stopped showing what was going on in detail to Griner. If what Mulkey did was what is necessary to draw attention to this matter, then that is just another indication of what needs to be done. Sorry behavior but brought about by even sorrier officiating.

I seldom respond to these threads but I will on this one:

Many of them are. However, Ms. Mulkey does not seem to show any sense of disgust in the times those errors have helped her team. The game between Baylor & OU this year in Norman is a perfect example. In the first half Griner hit Joanna McFarland with an elbow. It stunned Jo and she froze and held her jaw for several seconds while play continued at the other end. Refs said no foul occurred with body language that seeemed to say to Jo: "oh shut up and get back in the game". JoAnn was obviously concerned and kept rubbing her jaw for a good while after that. At the other end on the next series, Griner threw her elbow at Jo again and the same official again failed to call a foul. This one is not quite as obvious that she made contact - but she certainly threw her elbow and Jo reacted like she had been hit again. Interestingly that official never returned to the game after halftime - with only 2 officials calling the second half. And although he calls Big-12 games regularly, I can find no Big-12 game he officiated for the next 2 or 3 weeks. My guess is that the Big-12, through their monitor of officials benched him - although that is obviously an assumption since no public disclosure was ever made. At least none I ever saw. I suppose it's possible he took ill at halftime and had to just take some time off for a few weeks. I have this sequence still on video. It is exactly what happened. Mulkey never showed concern about that event that I am aware of. No wonder - it helped her team.

My assumption was that the Big-12 did not want to have the embarrasment of having the same player (Jo) injured again with no foul being called and no response from the big-12 office. That is due to the events in the paragraph below:

The most obvious official's error I can ask you to recall is the game when JoAnna McFarland had her jaw broken by an OSU player. An obvious elbow was thrown, she laid on the court while the game continued to the other end - and the refs said no foul had been committed. I'm not sure how they could possibly believe no contact was made when a jaw was broken. They obviously knew it had happened - just did not want to admit it after not calling it originally. It HAD to be at least a flagrant I by rule. Yet they claimed it was not even a foul. I have this sequence on video too. You will recall she had her jaw wired shut and had to wear a mask the rest of the year. Never fully recovered back to her full playing style until this year. And to the best of my knowledge no apology was ever made - at least not publicly. That is the biggest blackmark on the Big-12 office I have ever seen. At least after the game they could have apologized about letting a player suffer a serious injury with the officials doing nothing to protect her.

Kim Mulkey has never even mentioned any concern about these kinds of events.

Someone mentioned the time this year when Griner knocked down the UConn player - in as dirty a play as you will ever see - yet no foul was called. Did Mulkey ever show any concern about that obvious error? Not to my knowledge.

Officials will make some mistakes. It has to be expected and accepted. However it is highly unlikely it will involve the same players or teams over and over. Odds are high against that - and brings questions about the integrity of the game.

I would be much quicker to accept KM's complaint if she would be consistent about discussing such errors when they are not tied up with a loss by her team.