The Confidential

ACC Suspends Refs for Violating Pro-Duke Agenda!

(Coach K’s Lap ACC Headquarters): To the surprise of anyone who has ever watched a Duke University game in any sport, the referees at the end of Saturday’s Duke-Miami football game inexplicably made several decisions that failed to benefit Duke.  What is not surprising–of course–is that Atlantic Coast Conference has acted quickly by  suspending those referees.

There are a number of Internet sources that have attempted to document the pro-Duke agenda:

• http://www.outsports.com/2009/3/11/4047352/video-evidence-the-refs-cheat-for-duke
• http://www.businessinsider.com/wisconsin-rips-refs-on-cbs-after-duke-loss-2015-4
• http://kentucky.forums.rivals.com/threads/most-blatant-refs-cheating-for-duke-i-have-ever-seen.90834/
• http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/2015/3/29/8308439/larry-brown-sports-accuses-refs-in-duke-game-of-collaborating-with
• http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/03/duke-refs-called-third-foul-delon-wright-utah-sweet-16-ncaa-tournament

And that is just from the first two pages of one Internet search.  Admittedly, unless you are a Duke fan, you have always suspected that Duke got favorable calls.  In any event, who can forget Jim Boeheim losing his suit coat over the conclusion to a Duke-Syracuse game?

Well, if you had any doubts, the ACC has acted swiftly in suspending the referees from the Duke-Miami game for two weeks.  ACC commissioner John Swofford had this to say:

The Atlantic Coast Conference prides itself on academics, athletics, and ensuring that Duke University receive as many favorable calls and outcomes as possible.  The referees in the Duke-Miami game flawlessly implemented that agenda in the final minutes of the game with a variety of calls against Miami, but then inexcusably failed to do so on the final play.  To the extent that this group believed, erroneously, that Duke must be given an even playing field in football, they have been disabused of such a notion and punished appropriately.

As it stands now, the scoreboard for pro-Duke and anti-Duke officiating outcome resides squarely at 62-1.  The ACC’s ruling will certainly have a chilling impact on calls against Duke for the foreseeable future, so look for that margin to increase.