Ex-Pac-12 ref: I was wanting to 'lighten the mood'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) a Former Pac-12 Conference coordinator of authorities Ed Rush says he was just attempting to "lighten the mood" in an anxious locker room when he "jokingly" made presents of $5,000 or a day at Mexico for any umpire who called a foul on Arizona coach Sean Miller throughout the league match. In his first interview since reports appeared of the event that compelled his resignation, Rush told The Associated Press on Thursday night that the responses were "absolutely, 100 % said in jest." He feels the remarks were leaked out by officers who were disappointed with his overall handling of the Pac-12 system and wished to tarnish his reputation. Rush said his remarks were section of an overall "point of emphasis" to break down on instructor misconduct on the sideline after Arizona's win over Colorado in the Pac-12 quarterfinal. In the course of that presentation, Rush said he cracked down on the officers who worked the overall game a Verne Harris, Michael Reed and Rodrick Dixon a' for perhaps not disciplining either Miller or Buffaloes instructor Tad Boyle for their behavior. "I said, 'The game cried out for a seat notice. It'd have already been quite simple to care for that. It cried out for table warnings,'" Rush said in a telephone interview with the AP. "Another crew was waiting inside, preparing for another game. I'd say there was a degree of pressure in the locker room, just because the disappointment that they worked this game but they didn't take care of anything that was a spot of focus. "So in a work simply to lighten the mood, I said to them, 'Hey, folks. What's it planning to take? Do you think we could give you a vacation to Cancun or maybe $5,000? Or who wants what? And now they're all laughing, that is generally what I wanted to complete. Therefore I said, 'I know you men, you possibly want $5,000, you want the money, you will not just take the visit to Cancun. And so I am on offer, 'What can you get'? At that time, I said, 'By the way, you understand my wife's not likely to go for this. I am planning to need certainly to pull this off the table.' Each of them laughed, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. OKAY, bud.' That was it, and I walked out." A study completed by the Pac-12's head of administration, Ron Barker, unearthed that every standard questioned confirmed "nobody thought they certainly were finding a reward," Scott said. But Rush could not survive the constant swarm of criticism from press and fans this week after the responses became public in a CBSSports.com record. The 70-year-old Rush, a longtime NBA referee and the league's former director of officiating, have been an advisor to the Pac-12 since 2007 before getting convention planner of authorities last May. He said he presented his resignation to Scott by telephone Thursday afternoon after it became clear it would definitely be "difficult to restore trust" of instructors, participants and the public. ESPN.com, stating unknown sources, also noted officers did not believe Rush was joking. In reaction, Rush told the AP some officers were unhappy together with his change of the official plan, particularly when he told masters that responsibilities in the league competition could be predicated on value rather than seniority. "That was wrong place, wrong time, wrong audience," Rush said. "See, where I originate from, in the NBA, there's a code that you certainly follow. You never, actually simply take the discussions in that locker room outside. I learned that code in 1966. Mendy Rudolph taught me that. You keep in touch with the NBA officials, they all follow the rule. "There is that code wasn't followed by a few guys ( in the Pac-12 ) who. They missed that part, and that's a waste. That is a very important part of the relationship and the job. Shame on me for being unsure of that, but I used poor judgment. So that is my regret. Other than that, we got after it. We spent a lot of time. We definitely made some inroads in the right direction." And Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

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