"TV" Ted Valentine barred from working NCAA Tournament
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Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]
It looks like TV Teddy will be seeing a whole lot less screen time this postseason.
According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, controversial college basketball official Ted Valentine has been barred from this year's NCAA Tournament.
In an interview with ESPN, Valentine said he was being held out of March Madness due to the "fallout from the incident in which he turned his back on North Carolina's Joel Berry II during a game back in January."
"This is not right, it's just not fair," Valentine told ESPN. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm being punished unjustly."
Valentine said NCAA coordinator of officials, J.D. Collins, informed him of the decision on Saturday afternoon.
For those that don't remember, UNC's Joel Berry went up to Valentine to discuss a missed foul call in their game against Florida State, where TV Teddy turned his back on him on national television.
This was the incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNlUoIXq8RQ
Valentine told ESPN that he understands he "screwed up," but fixed the situation a week later by apologizing to Berry.
"I screwed up," Valentine told ESPN about the January incident. "But I went back a week later and apologized, and he and I were joking and kidding. It was no big deal. I even pulled him out of a situation where he could have gotten a technical foul."
In fact, Valentine recently said he was tired of the controversy and is seriously thinking about walking away from the game.
In an interview with The Fieldhouse’s Seth Davis back in January, Valentine said he has "had enough."
Photo by Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports[/caption]
It looks like TV Teddy will be seeing a whole lot less screen time this postseason.
According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, controversial college basketball official Ted Valentine has been barred from this year's NCAA Tournament.
In an interview with ESPN, Valentine said he was being held out of March Madness due to the "fallout from the incident in which he turned his back on North Carolina's Joel Berry II during a game back in January."
"This is not right, it's just not fair," Valentine told ESPN. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm being punished unjustly."
Valentine said NCAA coordinator of officials, J.D. Collins, informed him of the decision on Saturday afternoon.
For those that don't remember, UNC's Joel Berry went up to Valentine to discuss a missed foul call in their game against Florida State, where TV Teddy turned his back on him on national television.
This was the incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNlUoIXq8RQ
Valentine told ESPN that he understands he "screwed up," but fixed the situation a week later by apologizing to Berry.
"I screwed up," Valentine told ESPN about the January incident. "But I went back a week later and apologized, and he and I were joking and kidding. It was no big deal. I even pulled him out of a situation where he could have gotten a technical foul."
In fact, Valentine recently said he was tired of the controversy and is seriously thinking about walking away from the game.
In an interview with The Fieldhouse’s Seth Davis back in January, Valentine said he has "had enough."
“I’m thinking about retiring,” Valentine said. “I’ve had enough of people blowing up stuff. I think I’ve had a stellar career, and I think it’s time to get ready to walk away.”Though he receives constant criticism from basketball fans and those in the media, Valentine told Davis he is a "better person" than what is made of him on the internet.
“First you’re guilty, then you have to prove yourself innocent. I’m just tired of it,” he said. “I’m a better person, I’m a better referee, I’m tired of being cut on. I really am.”Could this be the final straw of "TV" Teddy's career?
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