Usually when a basketball announcer becomes a part of the game it’s because an errant pass was thrown towards the broadcast table and not because an analyst called a ref over to show them they made an incorrect call.
That’s what happened during a thrilling non-conference game on Friday night between Virginia and Florida with less than a minute remaining and the Cavaliers clinging to a 71-69 lead.
After the officials initially called a loose ball out of bounds off of Florida, ESPN TV analyst Cory Alexander called the refs over to review the play from his monitor to prove the ball actually went off of Virginia.
(Even weirder, Alexander is a former Cavaliers player who called games for the University of Virginia radio network before joining ESPN.)
Officials agreed with Alexander’s assessment and reversed their ruling. That sent Virginia coach Tony Bennett into a rage on the sidelines and it’s really hard to blame him.
Tony Bennett was furious with ESPN's Cory Alexander for letting the refs check his monitor to overturn a call against Virginia. pic.twitter.com/0ZowSsL8Ir
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 11, 2023
Regardless of whether or not the officials got the call right initially, the announcers should not be inserting themselves into the game. It’s one thing if a referee asks the broadcast crew to see their monitors. It’s also fair game for the broadcast to criticize the referees for missing calls.
But it’s another issue entirely to call officials over to tell them they missed a crucial call and get them to overturn it. Alexander seemed to understand why Bennett was angry with him — even if he didn’t think he did anything wrong.
Fortunately for the Virginia coach, his players were there to snap him back into the game.
When #UVa coach Tony Bennett got angry at a late call reversal in Friday's game against Florida, Ryan Dunn helped to calm him down.
“Ryan was like, ‘Next play, next play.’ It’s nice when the players are telling you. Usually, you’re telling them that.” https://t.co/sk0IzSsKgz pic.twitter.com/4mkzNGtCFC— Cavalier Insider (@cavalierinsider) November 11, 2023
The Cavaliers went on to win, 73-70, but Alexander crossed the line here, even if it ultimately turned out to be harmless.
