Working a Friday night high school football game gives me goose bumps. Each week, Id tag along with dad and his crew to whatever game they had scheduled. Being part of the game is a big reason. He goes to IU Health Methodist. What happens next leads toa picture caught by IndyStar photographer Kelly Wilkinson. Officiating at the professional level requires commitment to conditioning. When hes telling a funny story, which happens quite a bit, Bert Smith talks quickly. Moves fast? The thing I enjoy most about NHL officiating is the challenge each game presents. The confidence I feel on the field has spilled over into almost every aspect of my life, and it has propelled me to believe that any dream is within my grasp. It could have been a red flag, he said doctors told him, but then again "sometimes it just hits you.". 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. And they found out. When hes saying something serious, though, he slows down. Smith is the college basketball official who passed out during the 2021 NCAA region final between Gonzaga and Southern California, toppling over like a fallen tree - his description - his body. I looked at him and said, Oh no you didnt , He said he told the doctor at the time, "You little SOB, you tricked me!. Now check your email to confirm your subscription to the Referee.com Review. Officiating is similar to playing the game full of emotion, both highs and lows. His crew comes back to Le Meridien with a doggy bag of the dinner he missed at the game, and theyre talking and laughing, but theyve seen replays of Smiths fall. Medical personnel at Lucas Oil Stadium treated Smith, who later went to a local hospital. Well get there, but right now were moving too fast. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Referee Fall in Gonzaga USC NCAA Game TBS Replay Gets Backlash Sports A Referee Collapsed at an NCAA Basketball Game. Check this out.. There is no better feeling then walking back into the locker room with your partners and knowing that we worked together as a team and that we gave everything we had for those 48 minutes. Later, doctors discovered the reason. Referee data is available for the 1988-89 through 2022-23 seasons. Market data provided by Factset. Look at his scowl. Smith is one of the longest tenured and most respected officials in college hoops. People in the building, and I was one of them, thought he was dead. Refereeing soccer is more than a hobby or a job; it is my passion and it is ingrained in me so deeply that it is a part of me. collapsed on national television during Gonzagas eventual win over USC. "But do we say 'I love you' enough? " Bert Smith, an official assigned to work the Gonzaga-Southern California regional final, left tonight's game after a medical issue ," the NCAA said in a statement. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. After his nationally televised fall, Smith had more than 500 texts, emails and calls to return, and by Wednesday hed returned them all. I continue to coach high school soccer. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". It would've been about NCAA basketball official Bert Smith, how he'd been used dishonestly as a pawn by the anti-vaccine movement to prove the unprovable: that COVID vaccines were causing. Scary video shows the ref falling backwards and hitting his head on the hardwood floor just four minutes into the March Madness game as other officials pause the match and run to his aid. All rights reserved. Having to make those decisions in a split second is a challenge I enjoy. Smith was admitted into Methodist and put on blood thinners. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Market data provided by Factset. It has put me in the middle of so many exciting situations where my skills and knowledge have been tested and given me and my crewmates the afterglow of satisfaction when you know you nailed it in a championship atmosphere. Here's where I'mtelling him about thatpicture, how he looks so angry on the stretcher. See Bert Smith?
Replay Of Referee Bert Smith Collapsing - YouTube Heres why: The doctor said, Listen, tell you what, why dont you just sit on the stretcher? I said OK, I can do that, Smith says and now hes laughing. There were ones from coaches, ones from colleagues, ones from family, one even from an NFL official hed never met. Smith, 56, regained consciousness, and he was alert as he was carried off the floor on a stretcher. INDIANAPOLIS Bert Smith hasnt seen the moment that made him famous. I know his wife is going to be going bananas. Smiths also grateful that his health scare, if it was going to happen,took place during the NCAA Tournament and not when he was driving or sleeping. Referee Bert Smith's fall in men's NCAA Tournament game didn't kill him. Nobody can say. Bert Smith doesnt remember any of thatand hasn't seen areplay of his fall, though he says he's almost ready to watch. Hes not wobbly, no blurry vision, nothing. Check this out. Referee Bert Smith is taken off the court on a stretcher after collapsing during the first half of an Elite Eight game between Gonzaga and USC during the first half of an Elite 8 game in the NCAA . Im ready to get after it, he says. Everything was normal. Dr. They were supposed to just check my head and spine for a concussion (he didnt have one, by the way), says Smith. a picture caught by IndyStar photographer Kelly Wilkinson.
Referee Bert Smith's fall in men's NCAA Tournament game didn't kill him Smith is the college basketball official who passed out during the 2021 NCAA region final between Gonzaga and Southern California, toppling over like a fallen tree his description his body flat and unmoving, his eyes open and unseeing, a Gonzaga trainer frantically waving for help. Medical personnel take care of a NCAA referee after he fell on the court during the first half during the game between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA . There is no swaying what we are attempting to do to make sure the game is played as fairly as possible. Hes huffing-and-puffing a little, but hes running stairs in a mask. A scary moment interrupted the Elite Eight on Tuesday, as NCAA official Bert Smith abruptly collapsed during a game between No. I was seven years old and wanted to learn everything he learned each day when he got home from practice. He'll just carry Karter on his shoulders, and yes,they'll use the stairs when everyone else rides the escalator. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. You dont know where that clot was going next, he says. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. What I mean is that we are the upholders of the integrity of the game. Fox News' Daniel Canova contributed to this report. He doesnt remember passing out, only that things got foggy, he says, and that his breathing didnt feel normal. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. This article is the copyright of Referee Enterprises, Inc., and may not be republished in whole or in part online, in print or in any capacity without expressed written permission from Referee. You blacked out., I look to my right, and I see a stretcher. Im happy I did it around a bunch of people who had the ability to help me.. The 56-year-old veteran referee was carried off the court on a stretcher. Fox News Flash top headlines are here. The hugs were pretty intense, Smith says, and hes talking slowly again. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. When you live something like I did, it hits you square in the eyes that you really have to value each day.". Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. If youve ever experienced a buzzer-beater, thats what Im talking about. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The reason is Im saying to them, You tricked me, you little SOB!. When he retired as an official to take the ACC job in 2016, he immediately had to replace one of the conference's best referees: himself. If hes going to walk, might as well make it a long one. Trammel was at Methodist the night of March 30. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. After that he studies business administration at SUNY-Buffalo, gets a job at Avis Budget Group, moves fast up the ranks as his career takes him to Chicago, Houston and finally the Cincinnati area. He said the night before the game, while running the stairs in the hotel to see his buddies or get ice, he was a little out of breath. 2023 www.southbendtribune.com. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. Referee Bert Smith is tended to by training staff and medical personnel after collapsing during the first half of the Elite Eight round game between the USC Trojans and the Gonzaga Bulldogs during . By Bert Smith, NCAA D-I men's basketball official from Florence, Ky. Why is he lying down near the Gonzaga bench? Hes a motivational speaker and diversity recruiter in addition to being an NCAA referee, and I imagine hes awfully good at both.
Referee collapses during USC-Gonzaga Elite Eight matchup - ABC7 Los Angeles Oh, and hes also been returning those messages. The clot restricted enough oxygen to Smith that he passed out during the game. Collins and NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt, for their support and kindness to me.. You could talk to him during a game. You blacked out., I look to my right, and I see a stretcher. " Bert is alert and stable and will not be transported to a hospital. Unfortunately we miss plays every night, but the challenge of trying to be perfect and get every play right is why I love it so much. Thats 1990.
WATCH: 'Scary scenes' as basketball referee collapses midway - RT Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar. Heres why: The doctor said, Listen, tell you what, why dont you just sit on the stretcher? I said OK, I can do that, Smith says and now hes laughing. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And after it happens, with a replacement official stepping in for Smith, he spends two hours getting treatment at the stadium, where his vitals are normal pulse, blood pressure, oxygen level and he doesnt have a headache. You meet just about every type of person there is that exists and you have to learn to deal with all of them in a manner that shows that you deserve to be called an official. You meet cheaters, schemers, geniuses and idiots. We won't send you spam. Officials figure they run at least four miles during a game, and its not a jog but a series of sprints. Smith is one of the longest tenured and most respected officials in college hoops. By age 11, I was organizing all the neighborhood kids in pick up games and by age 14, I got certified to referee and started coaching. After all, he hit the court hard, so hard that it left a giant bump on the back of his head. REFEREE Bert Smith collapsed during the first half of the USC - Gonzaga game during the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. After college, I had the great privilege of joining his football crew and kick-starting my own football officiating career. As the doctor says: Sometimes you dont get a red flag. Hes huffing-and-puffing a little, but hes running stairs in a mask. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Trammel had seen the video. Smith fell and was immediately attended to by medical personnel. After that he studies business administration at SUNY-Buffalo, gets a job at Avis Budget Group, moves fast up the ranks as his career takes him to Chicago, Houston and finally the Cincinnati area. And how did the court get so blurry all of a sudden, like someone smeared it with. For me, it didnt seem like a red flag, Smith says. Bunch of sixth-graders at Garfield Park in Chicago. Off the court, doctors checked his vitals: blood pressure, heart rate, etc. Smith trains year round on a treadmill or stationary bike, and gets in other workouts like when the family goes to Disney World in Florida and Smith says they dont need a stroller for their grandson, Karter. Berts on the sixth floor, and hes putting on his mask to run the stairs down to the fifth floor for ice, or to run up to the eighth floor to see his buddies. It puts in perspective the value of each day, because we all go through our lives were all guilty of it and we just live, right? Hes feeling wobbly, so wobbly. This season he worked about 90 games, including dates in the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conference. We make mistakes but we make them with the honest attempt to be right 100 percent of the time; I like being held to that high standard. I ran and grabbed his phone, and he checked his phone and within the first hour, he had 250 texts, and a lot of them from fellow referees. The doctor says, Thats what Im taking you out on., I said: Listen, Doc, Im walking out of here. Todays game is so fast and the players have such a high skill set that its very important to be in the best possible position to judge a play and make a call. One of those people was Mike Fox, an independent contractor hired by the NCAA to help run the tournament and a basketball official himself. Just over four minutes into the game between USC and Gonzaga, Bert . Look at his scowl. Hes not wobbly, no blurry vision, nothing.
Referee Bert Smith in Stable Condition After Collapsing During Gonzaga "You don't know where that clot was going next," Smith told the Star's Gregg Doyel. Why is he lying down near the Gonzaga bench? They strapped me in! Smith, a veteran college basketball official of 28 years, lost consciousness five minutes into the game, falling backward in a scary moment captured on the TBS broadcast and banging his head against the hardwood court. All rights reserved. I have to be ready physically, mentally and emotionally.
Referee Bert Smith collapses at NCAA men's tournament game between Add to that the fact that we actually get paid to exercise, and I cant think of a better way to spend a spring afternoon than on a lacrosse field! He has been in contact with his family. When hes saying something serious, though, he slows down. You also have to ensure that your mental preparation is exceptional in order to be effective. She sits down next to the bed, Smith continues, and she says: I saw your fall tonight.
, Two days later, clot gone, he was discharged. Smiths pausing. Smith does rememberthe play before it, Gonzagas Andrew Nembhard stealing the ball and going the other way, but now the action is coming back toward the USC basket, where Smith had remained hed been unable to run the court as Nembhard finished at the rim and Smith is wondering whats going on. 29/08/21, Germany (unknown age) Unnamed Germany C-League Dillenburg a player from Hirzenhain collapses, game . He wasnt one of those guys you couldnt talk to. First as an athlete growing up in Buffalo, a high school small forward, receiver and 400-meter runner, then some junior college basketball.