Retired SEC official comments on the head referee hugging Alabama QB Ty Simpson before game against Tennessee
Tennessee Vols fans weren’t happy when they saw the head referee hugging Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson before the game last Saturday night
Tennessee Vols fans probably had a hunch that last Saturday night’s game wasn’t going to go well when they saw the head referee hugging Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson just before kickoff.
The ABC/ESPN broadcast captured head referee Jeff Heaser taking his hat off while giving Simpson a friendly embrace.
Television broadcasts don’t always show pregame interactions between officials and players, so it’s hard to know if this is something that’s a regular occurrence.
Retired SEC official comments on the head referee hugging Alabama QB Ty Simpson before matchup against Tennessee
Retired SEC official Gerald Hodges joined WNML’s SportsTalk this week and he was asked by host John Wilkerson about the interaction between Simpson and Feaser.
Hodges, who retired in 2022, admitted that he didn’t see the interaction live. When he did see the photo, via Facebook, he thought it was AI generated at first.
“Is there kind of a cozy relationship before most games, in terms of officials talking with some members of each team, or how does that work — is that anything out of the ordinary?” asked Wilkerson.
“Yeah,” replied Hodges. “And I did not see that — I watched the whole [game]. I saw a thing on Facebook that was definitely an AI type of deal. But I’ve never seen anything like that happen, literally.”
Later in the conversation, Wilkerson again asked Hodges about the interaction.
“Right as Alabama came out of the tunnel, that’s when there was the conversation between Simpson and a referee, if not more referees, and then there was the quick hug and wish of good luck,” said Wilkerson. “So that would not be standard operating procedure, correct?”
“That statement in itself is true,” responded Hodges.
So there you have it. If you think the hug between Simpson and the head referee before playing Tennessee was out of the ordinary, you’re not alone — a retired SEC official shares the same sentiment.
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