Biased Officiating

The Penn State season is over, but lots of people are still grumbling about poor and biased officiating, perceived or real. The common, downtrodden, step-brother feeling among Penn State fans is that the odds are stacked against us in the Big Ten because we’re still not regarded as “one of the boys.” They see us as the target of a vast, conference wide, establishment conspiracy that would undermine our Nittany Lions whenever their perennial favorites Michigan and Ohio State are in jeopardy of being eclipsed by Penn State. Game officials, hired by the conference, are viewed as the soldiers implementing that conspiratorial agenda.

The conspiracy theory is a little extreme, but we do seem to have a lot of nonsensical calls going against us—more than those that benefit us. (Doesn’t it always seem that way to sports fans?) Given that, read this article by David Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot-Observer about an acknowledged conflict of interest by a Big Ten official you will remember very well. Thanks to Joe T. for pointing it out to The Turkey.