During the NCAA Tournament game between Chattanooga and N.C. State, official Tommi Paris was removed at halftime due to a 'background conflict.' An investigation revealed that Paris, who officiated the PackWomensBball v. GoMocsWBK game, obtained an MA from Chattanooga, which was deemed a conflict of interest. A statement from @MarchMadnessWBB confirmed the reason for the removal. The NCAA's policy requires officials to disclose any school affiliations to prevent such conflicts, but this procedure was not followed in Paris's case. An NCAA rep stated, 'We’ve always asked for that information to be provided, and we can only go based on what we have in front of us.' The NCAA's VP for women's sports was contacted for further clarification, but no additional information was provided.
NCAA removes a referee DURING a March Madness game as it's revealed official has a 'background conflict' https://t.co/CbtwdXkzQo https://t.co/1gFVo04kBW
Tommi Paris was removed from Saturday's NCAA Tournament game between Chattanooga and N.C. State. https://t.co/jWKuoMz1dw
Tommi Paris was removed from Saturday’s NCAA Tournament game between Chattanooga and N.C. State. https://t.co/WvFgpfh2BU
Official pulled at halftime of N.C. State’s first-round win over Chattanooga due to conflict https://t.co/XlmkkB34xa
UPDATE: An NCAA rep said prospective officials must disclose school affiliations, but that didn't happen here. It's effectively an honor system. “We’ve always asked for that information to be provided, and we can only go based on what we what we have in front of us.” https://t.co/AXcW4IovBp
I contacted the NCAA’s VP for women’s sports to obtain more information on how this happened, but my call was declined and I have not received an answer via text. https://t.co/seLUfnc8AF
Development after @PackWomensBball v. @GoMocsWBK — they switched official Tommi Paris out at half. A statement from @MarchMadnessWBB says Paris was taken out due to a “background conflict.” Per a quick Google, Paris got an MA from Chattanooga. @TheNextHoops https://t.co/EeQCUasygv