According to Jeff Goodman, controversial referee “TV” Ted Valentine has been banned from working the NCAA Tournament.
The ban stems from fallout over an incident with North Carolina’s Joel Berry several weeks ago:
According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman:
Well-known NCAA referee Ted Valentine, who officiated the Final Four last season, will not be working NCAA tournament games this year — and he told ESPN it’s because of fallout from the incident in which he turned his back on North Carolina’s Joel Berry II during a game in January.
“This is not right, it’s just not fair,” Valentine told ESPN. “It hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m being punished unjustly.”
Valentine told ESPN he was informed by NCAA coordinator of officials J.D. Collins of the decision just prior to working the Wichita State-Houston AAC semifinal game on Saturday.
“I asked him why,” Valentine said. “We talked about the Joel Berry situation and how he had a discussion with the Big Ten. But I told him, ‘I fixed the situation.'”
