NCAA Dismisses Game Official Mid-Game Due to Background Conflict
During the Chattanooga-N.C. State game on Saturday, the NCAA made a decision to replace one of the game officials at halftime due to a conflict of interest.
The official in question, Tommi Paris, was substituted out for Angelica Suffren, who had officiated the earlier game at the same location, after it was discovered that Paris had a background conflict that made her ineligible to officiate the game she had been assigned to.
The NCAA released a statement explaining the change was made upon discovering that Paris had obtained a master’s degree from Chattanooga, a detail that should have been disclosed beforehand to prevent any potential bias, as per NCAA’s protocol for tournament officials.
Chattanooga’s coach, Shawn Poppie, was informed about the switch during halftime without specific details being provided. He noted the rarity of such occurrences in his career, with the only other instance being due to an injury.
Angelica Suffren, who had just officiated the Green Bay-Tennessee game, was chosen to take over for the second half to ensure the game continued with a fully experienced officiating crew, alongside Danielle Jackson, who was the standby official.
The decision to use Suffren for the rest of the game was made to leverage her extensive on-court experience, as mentioned in the NCAA’s official statement.
Coach Poppie, unfamiliar with such situations, remarked on the use of a standby official for such circumstances, indicating a learning experience for all involved.
The game concluded with N.C. State securing a victory with a final score of 64-45. During the fourth quarter, Suffren called a technical foul on Poppie as Chattanooga trailed significantly.
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