Ref Flops on OJ Mayo

[timvp]

Mayo allowed to play in Cameron-hosted prep event
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2748092

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Suspended prep star O.J. Mayo won a temporary restraining order Tuesday that would allow him to play later in the day for Huntington High against another nationally ranked opponent.

Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon granted separate requests by Mayo and five other Huntington players who were suspended for two games stemming from a game against Charleston's Capital High last Friday.

The rulings would allow Mayo and his teammates to play in a game Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., against Artesia of Lakewood, Calif. O'Hanlon set hearings for the players for Feb. 9 and barred state athletic officials from imposing the suspensions until a decision is made on the players' procedural rights to appeal the penalties.

More than 5,000 fans are expected to attend Tuesday's game.

Mayo, a senior who is considered by some to be the nation's best guard prospect since LeBron James, received two technical fouls and was ejected, then he followed referee Mike Lazo to the scorer's table and apparently bumped the referee from behind.

Under state athletics rules, the penalty for receiving two technical fouls in a game or being ejected from a game is a two-game suspension. A student who "in protest lays hands or attempts to lay hands upon an official" can be declared ineligible for up to a year.

Mayo's five teammates were suspended for leaving the bench area. Upon his ejection, Mayo was escorted off the court by a police officer.

"We feel O.J. certainly didn't do anything intentional," his attorney, Mike Woelfel, who also is an assistant coach at Huntington, told The Herald-Dispatch on Monday. "If there was contact, it was inadvertent or may have been accidentally initiated by the referee himself."

Huntington (15-0) is ranked second and Artesia (21-1) No. 11 in the most recent USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings. Huntington also is scheduled to play Friday against Scott County (Ky.) in Lexington, Ky.

Under SSAC rules, if a student plays under a restraining order that is later reversed, the team could be forced to forfeit any victories in which the student played. Mike Hayden, executive director of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, didn't immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.

Mayo signed a letter of intent in November to play next season at USC.

The New York Times, in a story reported in Tuesday's editions, detailed the events that led to Mayo's ejection:

• Mayo was called for his first technical foul for taunting after a dunk late in the second half against Capital. Following that whistle, he walked to midcourt, where players from both teams had gathered and were jawing. Mayo then walked away.

• The second technical was called after Mayo walked back toward the players gathered at midcourt. From the video, which has been available on the Internet via the Web site of WSAZ in West Virginia, Mayo does not appear to say or do anything, The Times reported.

• But when Lazo, the official, walked to the scorer's table to report the technical, Mayo followed and appeared to make subtle, if any, contact with Lazo. The official then dropped suddenly to the ground. On the video, The Times said, it appeared Lazo's fall was exaggerated.

Lazo could not be reached for comment Monday, according to The Times.

"This official wanted to be the star of the show," William Bands, a lawyer in Charleston who watched from the stands, said, according to The Times. "That resulted in a situation that could have cost Huntington High School and the state of West Virginia a once-in-a-lifetime honor, to win a mythical national championship."

The video of the ref flop is on this page:

http://www.wsaz.com/sports/headlines/5380896.html

:lmao :lmao ... That was the worst flop I've ever seen :rollin

[mardigan]

That was the worst thing I have ever seen, this ref should lose his job immediately, cant believe he threw himself like that

[cornbread]

What a little biatch!!! It should have been a blocking foul on the ref. He totally flopped.

[Findog]

If I were OJ Mayo, I wouldn't feel too bad. Two years from now he's going to be rich and in the NBA. Hell, next year he's gonna be rich, on tv a lot and living in Hollywood. This prick is still going to be stuck in West Virginia. I mean, come on, West Virginia, it doesn't get much worse than that. Chalk this up to blind jealousy.

[RonMexico]

That flop was terrible. Still, this video shows Mayo's obvious attitude problems that have plagued him for a couple of years. Nice dunk, but the showboating and then going back to talk shit after he already got T'd up and was warned again... classless.

[Findog]

That flop was terrible. Still, this video shows Mayo's obvious attitude problems that have plagued him for a couple of years. Nice dunk, but the showboating and then going back to talk shit after he already got T'd up and was warned again... classless.

Except it didn't happen like that at all. The coach's affidavit said that the ref went up to him before the game and made it clear he had a hard on for Mayo and an itchy whistle. Mayo doesn't do shit to earn the second T. He's not talking to anybody he's just walking back towards his teammates.

He's 17 years old and he's a basketball celebrity. Not surprising kids at that age aren't very mature.

[joeyjfive]

Damn that ref acted like someone tackled him.

[RonMexico]

Except it didn't happen like that at all. The coach's affidavit said that the ref went up to him before the game and made it clear he had a hard on for Mayo and an itchy whistle. Mayo doesn't do shit to earn the second T. He's not talking to anybody he's just walking back towards his teammates.

He's 17 years old and he's a basketball celebrity. Not surprising kids at that age aren't very mature.

Ok, watching it the second time I realize that he didn't say anything when he walked back, but it's still not a smart thing to do especially since his coach had to have informed him about this ref's tendencies. I just have to say that I can't agree with the first taunting AT ALL (walking back with the ball in his hands? so you got a big contract from USC to "go to school," please show some maturity... LeBron got way more hype but I never heard/saw him acting like this). Then when he started talking shit at the opponents - that was uncalled for, as well.

Now, I've officiated high school and jr. high games for about 4 years in Texas and I would say from personal experience that I'm a patient man and have only given out one tech to a player ever (that was when this 7th grader talked shit to me). In this situation, with Mayo being the best player on his team, already receiving a tech, I would not have given him a second one for walking in that direction and would have simply stepped in between the players and given him a very stern warning.

Still, I was mainly highlighting his attitude problems which are obvious in the video (not to metion the videos of him in summer leagues in Vegas and the various print articles about him). I'm just saying that players like Dwight Howard, LeBron, T-Mac, Monta Ellis, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant have never acted in this fashion and all of those players are great. I say this because I've seen about 3 high school games on TV that included Durant or Oden and those kids were very mature and team-oriented. I'm just saying look at the kids who come out of high school/freshman year of college and have attitude problems and end up out of the league in 3 years. Mayo obviously has incredible physical gifts, but he's not going to be able to dunk on everyone all the time in the NBA.

[cheguevara]

Mayonaise should not be in the same sentence as Lebron. He thinks he's a thug balla

[ponky]

Ok, watching it the second time I realize that he didn't say anything when he walked back, but it's still not a smart thing to do especially since his coach had to have informed him about this ref's tendencies. I just have to say that I can't agree with the first taunting AT ALL (walking back with the ball in his hands? so you got a big contract from USC to "go to school," please show some maturity... LeBron got way more hype but I never heard/saw him acting like this). Then when he started talking shit at the opponents - that was uncalled for, as well.

Now, I've officiated high school and jr. high games for about 4 years in Texas and I would say from personal experience that I'm a patient man and have only given out one tech to a player ever (that was when this 7th grader talked shit to me). In this situation, with Mayo being the best player on his team, already receiving a tech, I would not have given him a second one for walking in that direction and would have simply stepped in between the players and given him a very stern warning.

Still, I was mainly highlighting his attitude problems which are obvious in the video (not to metion the videos of him in summer leagues in Vegas and the various print articles about him). I'm just saying that players like Dwight Howard, LeBron, T-Mac, Monta Ellis, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant have never acted in this fashion and all of those players are great. I say this because I've seen about 3 high school games on TV that included Durant or Oden and those kids were very mature and team-oriented. I'm just saying look at the kids who come out of high school/freshman year of college and have attitude problems and end up out of the league in 3 years. Mayo obviously has incredible physical gifts, but he's not going to be able to dunk on everyone all the time in the NBA.

Yeah, I've seen all those summer league, trickster videos of Mayo and I have to agree with you. That boy is going to be the Kwame Brown version of a guard.

[sabar]

Mayo says something before picking up his second T but the mic obviously doesn't grab it. Who knows what he said and if it warrented a T. The ref was eyeing him the entire time though looking for any reason to get him out of there.

Touching the ref is stupid, but that flop was just ridiculous.

No way he should keep his job after that.

[leemajors]

this kid needs to play for bobby knight.

[Fillmoe]

VLADE in his prime...... Manu NOW! grade A flop!

[RonMexico]

With the camera zoomed in, we don't get the best angle, but it sure looks like the ref flops out of bounds into the ad boards. Just ridiculous.

[RonMexico]

Yeah, I've seen all those summer league, trickster videos of Mayo and I have to agree with you. That boy is going to be the Kwame Brown version of a guard.

Yeah, he could be great in the D-League or on the And-1 Mixtape Tour, but the NBA is a professional league, and he needs to do a little growing up. Or we can just wait until Mayo throws a chocolate cake at someone's back or fires warning shots into the air.

[trueD]

Just checked this out for the first time...

To me, it looks like the ref SLIPPED.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/SIG=11l64rtce/**http%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNyQxPf3JK WM

[RonMexico]

Just checked this out for the first time...

To me, it looks like the ref SLIPPED.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/SIG=11l64rtce/**http%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNyQxPf3JK WM

You're being way too nice. That dive looked like it came from the upper body... see what I mean?

I didn't realize Mehmet Okur was a high school ref.

[trueD]

Watch his arms flail just before he goes down, a sign he was trying to maintain his balance.

Still a prick if he slipped, since he didn't set the record straight before Mayo got led out of the gym.

[cornbread]

Funny thing is that on both techs, the ref that called them was not the closest to Mayo and it seemed there were other refs that had better views of Mayo. This guy had it out for him.

[dav4463]

It wasn't a flop by the referee. Their legs got tangled up. Ever have somebody step on your foot or shoestring while you are already off-balance? It can look like a flop. I can't believe they let the kid play because he was on TV in his next game. An ejection for any "normal" player would mean he sits out four games. This is what happens when kids get everything given to them. They think they are bigger than the game. He's going to be in for a rude awakening some day if he doesn't shape up.

[dav4463]

Mayo says something before picking up his second T but the mic obviously doesn't grab it. Who knows what he said and if it warrented a T. The ref was eyeing him the entire time though looking for any reason to get him out of there.

Touching the ref is stupid, but that flop was just ridiculous.

No way he should keep his job after that.


He is a well-respected college official who also does high school ball and you want him to lose his job because some "prima donna" kid bumps him during a game. That's idiotic. That's why kids run the schools and parents get in fights with each other and referees just say "screw it, it's not worth it anymore."

[trueD]

Yeah, the kid looks thuggish, and his defender #22 on opposing team was chillin'. No history on what was happening up until that point.

Upon second view of the vid, Mayo didn't appear to say ANTHING, much less something deserving of a 2nd T, thugh he could have bumped #2 ref but the view is too skewed to make out. Then, when Mayo is shown walking behind ref #1 to the scorers table he appears to take an unusually large step just before the ref goes down. We can't see below the waiste, it could have been a trip or a tangle, and not a slip.

And what was up with Mayo fumbling inside his pants before the 2nd tech, some kind of animalistic posing?

[RonMexico]

Well, I still think Mayo has a bad attitude, but I'm going to maintain that the ref took a dive. I wouldn't have called that second tech (because calling both of them so quickly makes the ref look like he has an agenda), but the first was definitely warranted. You see players get ejected in the NBA for just walking back towards a ref, and this is the same type of situation - if Mayo didn't want to risk an ejection he could have just walked away. Instead, he walks right back to the kids he was just jawing with and stares them down... playing with fire, my man.

[trueD]

Well, I still think Mayo has a bad attitude, but I'm going to maintain that the ref took a dive. I wouldn't have called that second tech (because calling both of them so quickly makes the ref look like he has an agenda), but the first was definitely warranted. You see players get ejected in the NBA for just walking back towards a ref, and this is the same type of situation - if Mayo didn't want to risk an ejection he could have just walked away. Instead, he walks right back to the kids he was just jawing with and stares them down... playing with fire, my man.
It's clear he has an attitude problem and was staring down #22. But it would seem the second tech was baited, because players were cool--just standing around center court with Refs #2 & #3. Think it was long past time for the refs to move players down to the other side of the court for FT's, not fair to just stand around waiting for a player to continue reacting. But again, there is no mention of what transpired before that play landing the techs, so waiting around to see if Mayo cooled down may have been in order.

Also, after Ref #1 called the tech, he was quick to point out to Mayo that he called the tech, "you got a tech". Don't know how it works in high school, but was that necessary?

Hopefully this kid can get further counsel and put his thuggery behind him before entering college. Or, perhaps college will help him out. :lol

[2Cleva]

That wasn't a Vlade/Fisher/Ginobili flop. That was of World Cup soccer quality.

First he comes out of nowhere to hand out the first T but I can't even see a taunt. Maybe a flex but I'm not sure.

After that, he's staring down OJ the entire way, just seeing what he was going to do.

Then, while OJ is walking toward the bench with his hands out, the ref is making his path towards the bench but eyeing OJ to flop when they get close.

That ref should be in the NBA.

[2Cleva]

A lot of the hate I read here about OJ is the same I read here about LeBron.

I haven't watched Mayo in person like I did to LBJ but way too early to call him a bust.

[RonMexico]

I'm not calling him a bust - I think he's got all the physical gifts in the world. The maturity is a question mark. Just like LeBron's ability to lead a team and deliver in the clutch are question marks right now.

By the way, his taunt wasn't just a muscle flex, it was him strutting with the ball in his hand all the way to the 3 point line.

[MrChug]

Well, from playing with his dick so much I coulda sworn that he tried to poke the ref in the ass!

[timvp]

What everyone seems to be missing that #22 in white threw a shoulder/punch at Mayo as he went up for the dunk. The video pauses at that moment, but it's pretty obvious if you look for it.

That's what caused Mayo to to get pissed. Of course Mayo could have handled it better, but it wasn't a matter of showboating.


P.S.

The ref flopped his azz off.

[Horry For 3!]

I just saw the video for the first time. Mayo either stepped on the back of the refs shoe or that was the worst flop ever in the history of flops.