Michigan Basketball Player Manny Harris Screwed By Refs

Michigan basketball player Manny Harris was tossed from the Wolverines’ recent game at Purdue. He was trying to clear some position for himself, got his elbows up and struck Purdue player Chris Kramer in the nose. Harris, justifiably, was assessed a foul. Elbows are dangerous and those kinds of fouls need to be called by the officials. But, tossing Harris from the game was going overboard by an officiating crew led by Jim Burr. The crew IMO improperly tossed Harris from the game for an elbowing foul that was not done with malice, but rather to clear some position from a defender closely guarding him. It’s the kind of move offensive players make in every game at almost every level of competition. The officials overreacted to Kramer’s dramatic foul after being struck (and perhaps being motivated/intimidated by the angry crowd). Even Purdue coach Matt Painter and Kramer admitted (in different articles) that neither thought it was an intentional act to injure. The officials were right to call a foul, but simply overreacted with the ejection.

Ann Arbor News:
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/basketball/index.ssf/2009/01/elbows_fly_again_as_michigans.html