Multiple sources told @DavidGlennShow and @ACCSports the ACC is ending its relationship with controversial BB official Karl Hess. More soon.
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) January 9, 2015
In case you have missed it, the background for these recent developments have been discussed in this thread on our message forums for days (SEE why you need to make our forums a part of your daily routine).
About friggin time. Of course it takes something happening to another school – Wake Forest – to effect change. It shoulda happened after Hess’s technical foul on Mark Gottfried were the deciding factor of State’s game with Wofford. It was not even arguable that his personal feelings impacted his officiating and he was out to make a point. Ultimately, his point impacted the outcome of the game. The problem for years with Hess is that his biases obviously impact his work — you don’t get the name “King Karl” for nothing. Karl has always had to be in complete control of everything and his penchant of ‘making points’ in games inherently change the outcomes of games.
This is particularly funny since David Glenn is breaking the news as Glenn has always been a supporter of Hess and has expressed multiple times that Hess is an excellent official.
Anybody as obviously thin-skinned as shown by the Corch/Googs incident (for which he should have issued a very public apology) has no business in any position of authority. This should have been obvious to anyone with a scintilla of common sense. But it took him being racist to a connected dude to get him in any trouble whatsoever. The world in which we live.
The real hope for ACC Basketball fans is that SOMEHOW Jamie Luckie, Roger Ayers & Brian Dorsey can find their way out of the door next!
Statefans is going to have a lot more on this topic…so, please stay tuned. As for now, BJD has some comments available by clicking here.
More from ACC Sports Journal here.
The ACC is severing ties with controversial referee Karl Hess, multiple sources told David Glenn of ACCSports.com and The David Glenn Show on Friday morning.
The decision to end the conference’s relationship with Hess was made by ACC supervisor of officials John Clougherty and other ACC decision-makers on Thursday. It’s still unclear whether the decision will go into effect immediately. The conference was considering giving Hess a two-week window to reach out to other conferences and schedule games later in the season while officiating ACC games as scheduled, sources told Glenn.
The ACC’s decision does not stretch to other conferences. Referees are independent contractors, so Hess is still capable of calling games in any other conference. He’s also under contract with the SEC and AAC.
The severance is not simply a reaction to the incident this past weekend, when Hess told a Wake Forest fan sitting courtside that he wants to watch his “Egyptian ass ref a game.” That fan, Indian-American and one of the Demon Deacons’ biggest boosters Mit Shah, was in conversation with the conference on Monday evening, an additional source told ACCSports.com. Shah has served on the Wake Forest Board of Trustees and is deeply embedded in the athletic department.
Instead, that incident was more of a tipping point. Hess was long under the watch of Clougherty for his past controversial actions, which include the ejection of former NC State players Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from a game in February of 2012 and an unusually early technical on NC State coach Mark Gottfried earlier this season. He was not scheduled to officiate the 2015 ACC Tournament, a source told Glenn.
Hess was a polarizing figure within the ACC. He was one of the most respected officials the conference had under contract, as indicated by his assignments on six Final Fours and nine ACC championship games. But, at the same time, he had build a notorious reputation with ACC fans and some league coaches.
3:30pm Update
ESPN.com has some additional info that Hess will not work any of his American Athletic games and is under review from the Big East.
Hess had been scheduled to work an American Athletic Conference game between Houston and Memphis on Sunday, but has chosen to step away from his remaining assignments with the league. Hess, who also works for the Big 12, Big East and SEC, may do the same with all of the leagues for which he currently works.
Referees are independent contractors for leagues and Hess told ESPN earlier in the day that he hadn’t heard from any league other than the ACC regarding his status.
Big East supervisor of officials John Cahill told ESPN that the league is doing its due diligence and conducting an independent investigation into Hess.
Also interesting:
Calls to the ACC have not been immediately returned, however a source told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz that Hess’ termination was the result of accumulated incidents in the ACC.
Hess had this to say:
Hess, who has worked ACC games for more than 25 years, told ESPN that the comment was made in jest.
“It’s a sad day and is devastating,” Hess told ESPN on Friday. “But I’m responsible.”
“I wasn’t trying to deliberately hurt anyone,” he added. “That’s not my character. I goof around a lot, and there was no intent to hurt anyone.”
