Official Ted Valentine's threat to retire elicits no love from critics of 'TV Teddy'

Mike DeCourcy

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Official Ted Valentine's threat to retire elicits no love from critics of 'TV Teddy' image

If Ted Valentine thought threatening to retire would make America feel bad for making him feel bad, it appears he has miscalculated again.

In an interview Saturday with Seth Davis of The Fieldhouse, Valentine said he was considering retiring from officiating after he’d been criticized — and ultimately sanctioned — for visibly turning his back on a player during an ACC game he’d worked Wednesday night.

Valentine told Davis he’d been taken off two Big Ten Conference games subsequent to that incident, including Sunday’s game between No. 1 Michigan State and Ohio State, and that he had declined an assignment to work a non-conference game involving ACC member Georgia Tech. Big Ten associate commissioner Rick Boyages declined comment to Davis.

"I’ve had enough of people blowing up stuff," Valentine told Davis. "I think I’ve had a stellar career, and I think it’s time to walk away."

MORE: Kentucky player ejected after refusing to let ref help him up

Valentine has worked 10 NCAA Final Fours, including last March, when he worked North Carolina’s victory over Oregon in the national semifinals.

On Wednesday, Valentine was officiating a game between North Carolina and Florida State when Tar Heels star Joel Berry attempted to field a pass in transition but could not reach the ball because a defender had delayed his progress by holding his arm. The ball went out of bounds and was awarded to the Seminoles.

Berry tried to explain to Valentine that the foul had been missed, but Valentine turned his back on the player and folded his arms as Berry attempted to hand him the basketball.

Valentine, who worked his first Division I game in 1981, said what occurred "was just something that happened in the battle of the game. It’s not really worth talking about."

Jay Bilas, ESPN’s lead analyst and a former college player and coach, was cited by Valentine as inflaming the situation by criticizing the official’s behavior on Twitter. But Bilas told Davis that Valentine’s behavior was "inappropriate" and so unusual that "I’ve never seen it before."

Valentine has been at the center of controversy before, including a 1998 incident in which he ejected Indiana coach Bob Knight that led to Knight being fined and Valentine being punished by the Big Ten for improperly calling a technical foul. His propensity for finding his way into the middle of the show led to the derisive nickname, "TV Teddy."

Valentine’s retirement threat did not lead to an outpouring of sympathy.

Mike DeCourcy

Mike DeCourcy Photo

Mike DeCourcy has been the college basketball columnist at The Sporting News since 1995. Starting with newspapers in Pittsburgh, Memphis and Cincinnati, he has written about the game for 35 years and covered 32 Final Fours. He is a member of the United States Basketball Writers Hall of Fame and is a studio analyst at the Big Ten Network and NCAA Tournament Bracket analyst for Fox Sports. He also writes frequently for TSN about soccer and the NFL. Mike was born in Pittsburgh, raised there during the City of Champions decade and graduated from Point Park University.