Obviously, some referees and umpires don’t mind sharing a light moment by playing along with a mascot’s antics during a timeout or between innings, but when a mascot starts to interfere with the game or with the job at hand, that’s when you need to take action. That’s presumably what happens when a mascot steps over the line and gets ejected. “It was a real rush,” Dempsey said, “but you had to check yourself sometimes because your adrenaline would get going and it was so easy to get really involved in the game.” Dempsey said that he was given strict directives from university officials that his role was merely to entertain and excite MSU fans, and not to become part of the game. Jason Dempsey spent three years in college as Sparty, the Michigan State University mascot, in the mid- 1990s. off the field!”Īll humor aside, although such stories make good fodder for the sports pages, officials’ run-ins with mascots aren’t usually particularly humorous when you’re the official who has to deal with it. The move drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, forcing a longer try. Then-Hurricane coach Butch Davis could be seen mouthing the words, “Get that s.o.b. 2, 2001, and hugged a player who scored a late-game touchdown. The University of Miami mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, ran onto the field during the Sugar Bowl played Jan.Southern Methodist University mascot Peruna was ejected by referee Bill Gracey in February 1998, for pretending to give Gracey two technical fouls after Gracey had tossed out SMU coach Mike Dement for arguing.During a Single-A baseball game in April 1993, Memphis Chicks’ mascot Chief Chickasaw was ejected for pretending to “moon” umpire Chris Hoffarth.A few months later in 1992, Western Athletic Conference football official Clair Gausman was inadvertently run over by the Texas Tech horse following a first-quarter touchdown in the Red Raiders’ game against Wyoming.That decision was made because John Routh, who played the role of the Maniac, organized the umpires to dance the hokey-pokey between innings of the 1988 College World Series title game. In 1992, the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee ruled that the College World Series that year would not include its own mascot, the Maniac.In December 1990, NBA referee Ed Middleton allowed Atlanta Hawks forward Jon Koncak to shoot an extra free throw after the Houston Rockets’ mascot stood behind the basket waving a poster of a bikini-clad woman.Here’s a short list of some of the more memorable incidents throughout the years: After the game, which Temple lost to Penn, 68-62, Chaney told reporters with a wry smile, “I can’t believe that’s ever happened before. Usually our mascot is soft.”īut the Temple Owl ejection is just the latest in a long line of referee mascot run-ins. Then-Temple coach John Chaney was as shocked by the incident as anyone.
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