Tennessee Fans Are Destroying Their Reputation

All fans complain about officiating from time to time. Vols fans are making it habitual.

Jon Chelesnik, who runs the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America, sent out an email in November asking when it is acceptable for a play-by-play broadcaster to criticize referees and umpires.

His one word reply- “never.”

Chelesnik’s four reasons: “1. You don’t know the rules like they do, 2. The players might be wrong, 3. They’re often just learning, too, and 4. It might reflect negatively on you.”

Chelesnik, one of the leading influences in modern sportscasting, once played basketball at Kansas State

Frankly, criticizing officials by the media speaks of blatant homerism. Of unprofessionalism. And of going after things that can’t be changed.

If you were a sports fan in the 1990s you may remember the nationally syndicated Fabulous Sports Babe. The show was dreadful; catering to the lowest common denominator and exposing ESPN’s PC culture at an early age- “We’ll have a sports talk show host with the traditional acerbic style of Pete Franklin or the fictional Bulldog Briscoe of Fraiser- only it will be done by a woman!”

The Fabulous Sports Babe wasn’t exactly a deep thinker, but she did get it right on one aspect. Whenever a caller from Podunk would call up and complain about an official’s call costing their team a game, she’d merely hang up on them and…