SOFT: Texas Tech's Radio Announcers Are Suspended This Week Because The Big 12 Reprimanded Them For Calling Out Shitty Officiating

[Big 12] - In accordance with Big 12 Conference Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct policies, the Conference has issued a public reprimand of the Texas Tech radio booth announcers.  They have also been removed from announcing the Tech game on November 20th. The actions have been taken in response to comments during Saturday’s football game broadcast against Iowa State.

“I understand the roles of the play-by-play and color analyst,” commented Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “However as University representatives they also have an obligation to adhere to Conference policy regarding comments about game officials.  The comments by the Red Raider Radio Network booth announcers were contrary to expected levels of respect and professionalism.  Questioning the integrity of Conference officials and specifically calling out members of the officiating crew is well beyond appropriate and permissible behavior.”

Oh shut the fuck up. We're talking about a home radio broadcast right? Right. They have every right to call out officiating, because officiating is typically awful. From the Horns Down bullshit to this I can't think of a softer league than the Big 12. It's sports. It's fans calling games for fans. They are supposed to bitch about officiating! Who cares if they say the refs names? That's pretty easy to find considering the TV broadcast shows it every single game. 

Here's what they apparently said. (h/t ESPN)

"I'll say it right now, the Big 12 does not want Iowa State to lose this game," Harris said.

"Yeah, Bob Bowlsby, you need to answer to this," Jensen added. "This is ridiculous. The inconsistency of this referee crew in favor of Iowa State. Unbelievable.

"The Big 12 should be embarrassed," he said. "The Big 12 should be embarrassed with this group. We've only pointed out two guys. I'm gonna read 'em all to you."

Jensen then proceeded to name on air every member of the crew.

This is what being a home announcer is all about! You support the team no matter what. Who cares if it's irrational hatred for refs? The point is to connect to Texas Tech fans. You think they were happy? Of course not. They were tossing trash onto the field. In fact we should be encouraging announcers to have some personality. I get that someone like Joe Buck can't be doing this and favoring just one side. But team announcers? Yes. It's 2021. Can we stop pretending like people aren't fans of teams. 

It's not like they even threatened the refs or did anything that crossed the line. They called them out for sucking. That's normal! I want Bob Bowlsby to suspend me. Suspend me from tweeting about Big 12 football/basketball. I dare you. Let people have a personality. Let them say what's on their mind and cater towards a certain team. What are we doing here?

This is soft.