Officiating Failures Lead To Neyland Trash Can

By: Kenny Thurman

Editor: Grace Pilkay

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College football can bring out the best in a town/city. Fans get to spend their Saturdays showing their love for their team. But, there are limits to this, as was shown last Saturday when #13 Ole Miss came to Rocky Top to play The Vols. It was a great game up until the final few minutes when on a fourth and 24 Tennessee needed to convert to win the game. Quarterback Hendon Hooker completed a pass to tight end Jacob Warren for what at first appeared to be the first down. After an official review, the referees ruled it short which gave Ole Miss the ball. This was a close call to make, they were using multiple different camera angles to help make the decision. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel had this to say on the missed call, ¨The spot was the decision they came to and the chains were being moved, and I didn’t get an explanation on it¨ This really shows how everyone was confused including the fans. A mix of alcohol consumption, them losing the game, the bad officiating, and hatred for Lane Kiffin had many fans reach their boiling point. All of a sudden a hailstorm of trash such as beer cans, condiment bottles taken from concession stands, water bottles, and even a golf ball that hit Lane Kiffin. University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman spoke on the matter after the game, “Behavior that puts student athletes, coaches, visitors, and other fans at risk is not something we will tolerate”. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey spoke on the matter, he called the behavior “unacceptable under any circumstances”. He also said that the SEC will be reviewing the policies and commissioner’s authority to “Impose penalties”. His goal is to “Make certain this situation is not repeated”. The punishment? Hitting Tennessee with a $250,000 fine. What other punishments may be imposed has yet to be seen.

The worst part about this is that Tennessee fans are so much better than this. Tennessee is supposed to be about southern hospitality, kind people, and passionate fans who should love their team not hurt them. Sadly, a few hundred people throwing bottles, cans, and other trash have directly cost your team $250,000 and who knows what other punishments could come Tennessee's way. Perhaps more punishing than the monetary fine is the damage to the reputation of Tennessee fan base. The people who decided not to act when they saw people throwing the trash also inadvertently contributed by not reporting them to security. To the people who threw the trash you have no right to call yourselves fans, fans are supposed to support and represent their team. There is no reason this should have happened or should ever happen again. We all understand that the officiating in that game was bad, but that is no reason to throw trash on the field. To all Vols fans… WE SHOULD DO BETTER.