University of Oklahoma Athletics
Mossman Prophecies No. 016
July 02, 2007 | Athletics
July 2, 2007
Unanimity is a tough thing to say, let alone achieve.
Unanimity, a form of the word unanimous, is what happens
when everyone agrees. To date, when watching the replay
of the onside kick in Eugene, we appear to have unanimity
sans one.
The Oklahoma contingent is certain, the Pac-10 is
certain and, heck, even the Oregonians appear
to be certain. Oregon's final possession should
never have occurred.
How is it then that the one person in North America
who saw it differently just happened to be the only
one that mattered?
That alone is the reason why this whole deal is so
perplexing. In most controversial calls, the scenario
boils down to something like a high school debate topic
- regardless of which side you're assigned to defend,
you can come up with enough evidence to build a solid
case.
To quote Coach Stoops' Monday press conference, this
one, "wasn't that hard."
The conspiracy theorists are hard at work. I don't
buy into all of that, but it's a lot harder to call
them off under these circumstances. You're left with
either that answer or just plain ineptitude.
Then again, we have new information that perhaps the
official was pressured into a hasty decision by ABC
personnel. Or that the equipment malfunctioned and
multiple views weren't available. The replay official
floated both of those excuses in a story
that ran Tuesday in an Oregon newspaper.
If either of those is true, why would the Pac-10 suspend
the officials? Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to
blame the machinery then to hang out the refs? Why
would the replay official bemoan his error and accept
the onslaught of such negative public scrutiny if he
truly wasn't to blame.
Hey, if that's me, and I know it was the fault of ABC,
faulty equipment or any other external force, the conference
can take its no-comment policy and cram it. I'm not
taking that kind of abuse for anybody.
It's a head-scratcher to be sure. Your faith in mankind
and in the practice of officiating steers you away
from the idea that somebody would deliberately rule
against the video evidence. And the obvious nature
of the video tape makes you ask, "How in the world
could someone see it differently?"
We once again have unanimity in that none of us can
understand how this could possibly happen ... sans
one. That one doesn't deserve threats, harassment or
any other torment any more than the Oklahoma players
deserve this bitter disappointment.
A straight-forward explanation of what really occurred
would go a long way towards healing both.
Mossman Prophecies Archive
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Kenny Mossman, Associate Athletics Director for
Communications, provides his perspective on Oklahoma
Athletics in his regular column on SoonerSports.com.
