KSU's Wooldridge Reprimanded By Big 12

Dan Smith

Kansas State Collegian

Jim Wooldridge received a public reprimand Tuesday from Big 12 Conference Commissioner Kevin Weiberg for
comments made on the officiating following Saturday’s K-State/Oklahoma State game in Stillwater.

The Cats’ head coach drew a technical foul with 1:25 left in the first half after officials failed to call a foul when
point guard Larry Reid was shoved in an attempt to penetrate to the basket.

After the game, Wooldridge demonstrated the incident to the media, showing that Reid’s push backward closely
resembled a forearm shiver in football.

According to reports from The Kansas City Star, Wooldridge was quoted as saying the call on Reid was not made
because K-State is wallowing near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference standings instead of hovering near the
top.

"In every game we play, every last one of them, that’s a foul," Wooldridge said to a Star reporter. "You do that
to (Iowa State’s) Jamaal Tinsley, and it’s a foul. (Against us) I don’t think it’s going to get called. I am sorry, but
I believe that. That’s just the way it is right now.

"If you’re fighting for a championship in this league, they’re going to call a foul. That non-call right there says a
lot."

The Star said Wooldridge even added that the official was in perfect position to make the call, but didn’t.

"(The officials) are going to walk out of here, and that’s fine. They’re going to go call games. That’s fine,"
Wooldridge said in post-game interviews. "But that guy knows (it was a foul). He was standing right there, and he
saw it.

"That’s wrong."

Wooldridge and athletics director Max Urick spoke with Weiberg, associate commissioner Britton Banowsky and
assistant commissioner Kim Anderson via Monday’s conference call, and Wooldridge was later cited by the
conference for violating the Big 12’s Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship bylaws. No fine was
administered in the matter.

Weiberg issued the following statement on the situation: "Coach Wooldridge’s assertion that teams receive
different officiating based on their position in the conference’s standings is very inappropriate and is not true.
The officials that work our games also work in other major conferences and conduct themselves with a high level
of professionalism.

"Officials sometimes miss calls, but I have the utmost confidence in their ability and the overall management of
our officiating program."

Section 7 of the Big 12 Conference’s Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship reads as follows: "Coaches,
student-athletes and administrators shall not make public comments critical of officiating. Concerns related to
officiating shall be forwarded to the Conference for review and response..."

The Star reported that Wooldridge had no intent on protesting to the league office, though, because he said "it
doesn’t do any good."

Nevertheless, any future violation of the Principles and Standards of Sportsmanship could result in additional
penalties, including a suspension from coaching.

Wooldridge issued a statement Tuesday regarding the Big 12’s reprimand: "We (Urick and myself) have had
some positive dialogue with Commissioner Weiberg and the Big 12 Conference office over the past two days. I
realize I made an error in judgment in making my comments on Saturday, but I do not want those in any way to
take away from Oklahoma State’s hard-fought victory.

"I certainly understand my responsibility as a head coach and take that very seriously. I fully intend to be
accountable for my actions both on and off the floor, and will make every effort to make sure there are no future
incidents."