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Pac-12 reprimands, fines USC AD Pat Haden for sideline incident
It didn’t take long for the Pac-12 to respond to the Saturday incident involving USC athletic director Pat Haden. The conference announced Monday that it has reprimanded and fined Haden $25,000 for what was deemed “inappropriate sideline conduct” during the Trojans’ win over Stanford.
The incident occurred when USC coach Steve Sarkisian, who was also reprimanded by the conference, vehemently argued with officials after he was penalized for sideline encroachment. Haden said he received a text message from a USC staff member saying that Sarkisian wanted to speak with him, so Haden came down to the sideline and “confronted game officials regarding the management of the game,” the conference said.
“The conduct by USC Athletics Director Pat Haden was inappropriate,” said Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott. “Such actions by an administrator in attempt to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of the contest, will not be tolerated.”
Haden apologized in a statement issued Sunday night and said he would not appear on the sideline for the next two games.
“We appreciate the public apology and recognition of the errors in judgment, as well as Pat Haden’s self-imposed 2-game sideline ban,” Scott added. “We took this into consideration as we determined the discipline. Nonetheless, the actions fell short of our expectation of our head coaches and athletics directors as role models for our student-athletes and important leaders of our institutions."
Haden is also a member of the College Football Playoff selection committee, but CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said Monday that the incident has no bearing on Haden’s role as a committee member.
“Emotional outbursts at games are not a matter for the playoff selection committee to deal with,” Hancock said in a statement. “This does not affect Pat Haden’s capability as a committee member. We recognize that athletics directors cannot be dispassionate about their own teams, and that’s why we have the recusal policy.”
As Hancock stated, the committee is aware that biases exist among the athletic directors on the committee. The recusal policy states that if a discussion around one team’s potential inclusion in the playoff arises, the committee member who is affiliated with the school is excluded from the discussion.
USC, now 2-0 and ranked No. 9 in the latest AP poll, will travel across the country to face Boston College on Saturday.
For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!