Pat Haden’s actions overblown, further complicate USC’s national reputation
By Micky Shaked
When USC athletic director Pat Haden went down to the sidelines to argue with the referee during his Trojan’s game against Stanford, there was nothing professional or even “amateur” about it.
Despite a profuse apology and self-imposed two-game ban, Haden was fined $25,000 by Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott for coming to coach Steve Sarkisian’s defense at his own behest. That brings the school’s total bill of fines since 2011 for various football-related violations to $60,000. “The conduct by USC Athletics Director Pat Haden was inappropriate,” Scott said in a statement. “Such actions by an administrator in attempt to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest, will not be tolerated.”
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Influence might be a tad forceful of a word. That doesn’t excuse Haden further vindicating anti-USC talking heads’ claims of a privileged reputation on University Park campus. It’s bad enough that Haden isn’t directly part of the football program. The fact he’s on the College Football Playoff selection committee only raises the profile of USC’s latest disturbance.
The call for his removal from the committee–while having fallen on deaf ears–certainly had its legs.
Rooting interests aside, it is NOT a good look for a program that seems to find itself in the media more for its indiscretions than it’s rank in the AP poll–which is now ninth by the way. Deadspin’s The Mighty MJD put it best: “That’s not a kid. That’s not even the grown-up in charge of the kids. That’s the grown-up in charge of the rest of the grown-ups who are in charge of the kids.”
Indeed, if Haden can’t let cooler heads prevail on national television, why should the student body be expected to do things like not blackout in the parking lot or get kicked out of the stadium for charging the field just like Uncle Pat? The sad part is it felt more like the overaggressive parent leaving the bleachers to argue balls and strikes with the umpire at a little league baseball game. In short, it really shouldn’t be considered that big of a deal.
Lest we forget, kicker Andre Heidari helped USC notch an improbable 13-10 win on Stanford’s turf by kicking a 53-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
To say that Haden’s actions jeopardize the integrity of the committee, as some have, is farfetched. Even Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock could sympathize. “Emotional outbursts at games are not a matter for the playoff selection committee to deal with,” Hancock said. “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.”
Whether it was Stanford, Florida State or any Top 25 team on the other side of the field, Haden went down to the sidelines for his team in a high stakes game. Haden is a highly respected school official chosen to be one of 13 real life people responsible for determining the four-team playoff bracket. Don’t take it from me, let New York Times college football reporter Mark Tracy explain:
"Recall that the playoff is a reaction against the Bowl Championship Series and its infamously impersonal computer algorithm. Hancock, the playoff’s executive director (who previously held the same position for the B.C.S.), said in a July interview, “This train will be driven by committee members — human beings.”And individual committee members’ biases and passions are a feature, not a bug. There are current athletic directors from each of the Big 5 conferences; the committee’s chairman is Jeff Long, Arkansas’ athletic director."
So to all the other Pac-12 folk out there crying foul, relax. And Pat, keep it in the box.