Referee ejects Arizona cheerleader during heated rivalry game
Rivalries can often bring out the best in those participating in an event — and the worst in those spectating.
Thursday night featured one of college basketball’s oldest rivalries: Arizona vs. Arizona State. They’ve met 235 times in a series that dates back to 1913.
But what happened in the 235th game likely had never happened in any of the previous matchups.
About eight minutes into the second half at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, referee Randy McCall stopped play during a free throw to eject an Arizona cheerleader.
The cheerleader shouted, “Not today, Remy,” toward Sun Devils guard Remy Martin while he was at the line.
McCall then pointed to the cheerleader and said, “He’s gone.” The referee then walked over to the scorer’s table and said, “This guy needs to get out of here,” in reference to the cheerleader.
Security approached the cheerleader to lead him down the tunnel and away from the court. Arizona State fans gave him a nice sendoff while he was making the walk of shame.
“He was yelling, using the [megaphone] to call out people by name, which is not acceptable. And he was asked to please stop, and he chose not to,” McCall said after the game via the Arizona Republic.
According to Rule 10, Article 8 of the official referee handbook, cheerleaders are not allowed to yell into their megaphones during game play and are not allowed to call out names. The Wildcat cheerleader did both and was subsequently tossed.
This isn’t the first time that an Arizona State basketball game has made news for something that didn’t occur on the court.
The Sun Devils student section has created the “Curtain of Distraction,” which is used to reveal distracting skits and shenanigans as opponents shoot free throws. The cheerleader wasn’t a part of the Curtain of Distraction, but a famous Olympian made an epic appearance there in 2016.
This. Is. EVERYTHING.#Pac12Hoops #Pac12AfterDarkhttps://t.co/fiCmcZBoGD
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 29, 2016
Michael Phelps trained for the 2016 Olympics in the Phoenix area and has a home there now; he sometimes swims at Arizona State, where his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, works. Phelps in a speedo certainly did its job as the opposing player missed both free throws.
In last night’s game another special guest appeared behind the curtain: former ASU All-American wrestler and current Bellator champion Ryan Bader.
Pokemon + Shake Weight + @ryanbader = Curtain of Distraction. Thanks to #SunDevil4Life Ryan Bader for returning to ASU to be part of the tradition! #SunDevilIntensity pic.twitter.com/RNJediq8iW
— Sun Devil Wrestling (@ASUWrestling) February 16, 2018
Bader wore even less clothes than Phelps did and also added a shake weight and two life-sized Pikachus. However, he didn’t have the same success as Phelps, with the opposing player making both free throws.
It turned out to be a decent basketball game between two ranked teams, with the revitalized Sun Devils falling to their powerful rivals 77-70.
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