Controversial ref 'TV Teddy' turns his back on complaining UNC player
Coaches will tell you the best officiated games are the ones when you don’t notice the referees.
By all accounts, Ted Valentine is a very good basketball official. He’s has been a college basketball official since 1981 and has worked in the NCAA Final Four on 10 occasions.
But Valentine’s flamboyance — or what some allege is “showmanship” — and short temper with coaches has earned him the nickname “TV Teddy.” And once coaches believe an official is going out of his way to play to the crowd — or the cameras — that official begins to lose respect.
Valentine is coming under fire from many in the sports world for his actions Wednesday during an ACC matchup between North Carolina and Florida State.
In the second half of the game, an outlet pass intended for North Carolina’s Joel Berry II sailed over his head out of bounds. Replays showed Berry was held by FSU’s Terance Mann as they ran up the court.
Ted Valentine is not interested in what Joel Berry has to say pic.twitter.com/j1XlpIEhLC
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) January 4, 2018
Berry grabbed the ball from out of bounds and approached Valentine to ask why no foul was called, but the veteran ref turned his back and stood with his arms folded, refusing to acknowledge Berry.
Basketball officials aren’t obligated to discuss calls with players or coaches, but veteran refs will at least give a brief explanation for their call, even if it’s a simple, “Sorry, that’s not what I saw.”
Veteran ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas ripped into Valentine on Twitter for turning his back on Berry.
Wow. An official in the UNC-FSU game literally turned his back on a four-year player trying to speak with him after a dead ball timeout. And, officials talk about players showing officials up. Ridiculous.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 4, 2018
Others on social media were also outraged.
Who is the student and who is the adult?
Joel Berry gets held, which leads to a turnover…Ted Valentine then refuses to talk to Berry-literally turning his back to him.
— Drew Maddux (@DrewMaddux) January 4, 2018
Watching what Ted Valentine did to Joel Berry last night turning his back after a CLEAR foul. It’s fine to miss calls but to try and be the show and act a fool like that is uncalled for.
— Nick Ward (@FlyingFluco) January 4, 2018
Valentine’s actions might result in disciplinary action from the ACC.
Brian Morrison, the ACC men’s basketball communications director, said conference officials will discuss the next steps.
“We are aware of what occurred and are addressing it internally,” read the ACC’s statement Thursday.
Valentine has been disciplined by a conference previously in his career. In 1998, Valentine was censured by the Big Ten for improperly calling a technical foul and subsequently ejecting Indiana coach Bob Knight.
Valentine called multiple technicals on Knight, including one for coming off the bench. But the conference said Valentine was wrong in calling the second technical because Knight came off the bench to check on an injured player.
At the time, Knight called Valentine’s officiating the “greatest travesty” he had seen in his 33 years as a college coach.
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