Sports Thread: Big Ten hired referee with SERIOUSLY questionable behavior

[My Name is Rob]

Big Ten football officiating team that came under scrutiny for its performance in two conference games last month was led by a crew chief with a history of bankruptcy, casino gambling, child abuse and allegations of sexual harassment, a Yahoo! Sports investigation has revealed.

The revelations about the Big Ten referee, Stephen Pamon, come four months after an NBA referee pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from allegations he bet on NBA games in which he officiated and provided inside information to high-stakes gamblers.

Although there is no evidence linking Pamon to gambling on games, the NBA incident rattled the sports world and cast light on the conduct of officials. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany was one of several sports executives who addressed the situation, and he detailed steps the Big Ten takes to investigate the backgrounds of its officials.

Yet despite the heightened focus on background checks and the integrity of officials, Pamon – an employee of the sheriff's department in Cook County, Ill., and a Big Ten official since 1988 – served as chief for a seven-man officiating crew this season.

When reached at his home Tuesday, Delany said, "I don't have any comment on that right now.''

Public records, news reports and interviews with several people who know the longtime college football referee revealed the following:

• He and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after the couple amassed $429,407 in liabilities, and two of the creditors were casinos.

• He allegedly has gambled at casinos as far back as the 1980s, and a sister-in-law said gambling losses incurred by Pamon and Pamon's wife led to the couple filing for bankruptcy.

Pamon and the seven-man officiating team he oversees came under fire after a series of controversial calls during a game between Penn State and Purdue on Nov. 3. Afterward, Purdue Coach Joe Tiller filed an official complaint with the Big Ten. The performance reportedly led the Big Ten to suspend the crew for the final week of the regular season. But before the suspension took effect Nov. 17, the conference allowed the officials to work a game between Illinois and Ohio State.

The embattled crew prompted more criticism for a call in that game that led to Illinois' first touchdown in a 28-21 victory over No. 1-ranked Ohio State, the Buckeyes' only loss of the season. The loss dropped Ohio State to No. 7 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings, but after every team ranked ahead of it lost in the final weeks of the season, the Buckeyes regained the top spot in the rankings and will play LSU for the national championship on Jan. 7.

By policy, the Big Ten does not discuss the performance of specific officials and has not confirmed whether Pamon's crew was suspended, although the crew did not work any games during the final weekend of Big Ten play.

But in July, with the scandal that involved NBA referee Tim Donaghy still fresh in minds of sports fans, Delany addressed background checks of Big Ten officials and the threat of gambling.

"We get permission from the officials to look at bank records, financial records, good debt and bad debt,'' Delany was quoted as telling reporters in July at the Big Ten's annual football media event. "If you see something bothersome, you ask more questions. If you continued to be bothered, you go another step with an investigation.

"We meet with the FBI periodically. We try to keep the lines of communication open. They come to us if they hear, see or feel something that's unusual. If we had a serious issue where we needed to dig deeper, we have resources where we get security or a private investigator to dig deeper.''

Of gambling, Delany was quoted as saying, "If there's one issue that could bring intercollegiate athletics to its knees, it's the gambling issue because it goes right to the integrity of the game."

The NCAA, in large part to safeguard against a gambling scandal, conducts background checks on football officials who work bowl games and basketball officials who work postseason tournament games. Pamon was an alternate referee for the Fiesta Bowl last year.

Although the Big Ten rarely comments on officiating, three days after the Purdue-Penn State game in which Pamon's crew drew scrutiny, Tiller told reporters he had spoken about the matter with Big Ten officials. Tiller said Big Ten officials agreed something needed to be done. "They assured me they would take proper action," Purdue's head coach said.

In the Nov. 3 Penn State-Purdue game, Pamon's crew penalized Purdue for personal fouls four times in the first half. The penalties cost the Boilermakers 15 yards apiece and prompted Tiller to hold his nose with two fingers and gesture at the officiating crew. But the most obvious blunder was yet to come.

It took place with 2:40 left to play, when Purdue receiver Selwyn Lymon caught a pass and darted out of bounds, which should have stopped the game clock. But the clock continued to run, forcing Purdue to use a timeout.

Purdue kicked a field goal on the possession and pulled within a touchdown. But Purdue failed to recover an on-side kick and only 18 seconds remained when the Boilermakers regained possession of the ball at their own 11-yard line. Without any timeouts left, Purdue drove to the Penn State 48-yard line before the game clock expired, sealing Penn State's 26-19 victory.

During the game, the officiating crew penalized Penn State 13 times for 88 yards and Purdue nine times for 82 yards.

more at: http://collegefootball.rivals.com/co...144&CID=752776

[Doug]

Oh great..I need him reffing my OSU games. SON OF A BITCH!

[My Name is Rob]

Originally Posted by Doug

Oh great..I need him reffing my OSU games. SON OF A BITCH!

I'm sure he'd NEVER make bad calls just to get his considerable gambling debt taken care of. I'm sure he's an honorable man.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by My Name is Rob

I'm sure he'd NEVER make bad calls just to get his considerable gambling debt taken care of. I'm sure he's an honorable man.

Fuck him..if I see him in our stadium next year...I'm gonna throw stuff at him.

[hickerwilly]

I'll hook him up with a lifetime supply of corn and soy beans if he "helps" Iowa win the national championship next year.