Instead, the league has fined Myer $30,000 for questioning a non-call in the Georgia game during the SEC coaches teleconference Wednesday.
"Coach Meyer has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics,"commissioner Mike Slive said. "SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 clearly states that the coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from public criticism of officials. The league's Athletics Directors and Presidents and Chancellors have made it clear that negative public comments on officiating are not acceptable."
The new policy, created in the wake of heavy criticism of officiating over a span of two weeks last month, allows Slive the latitude to either fine or suspend -- or both -- a coach who is critical of officials, even for a first-time offense.
In response to the fine, Meyer released a statement of apology.
"As I stated last week, I have great respect for Commissioner Mike Slive and the Southeastern Conference and I respect this decision. There was no intent to criticize an official after being asked about a situation that occurred last Saturday and I apologize for my remarks."
The $30K fine represents .75 percent of Meyer's average annual salary of $4 million.
UPDATE -- 1:37 PM ET: According to the Birmingham News, Meyer's fine was the second-largest ever imposed by the SEC. Kentucky was fined $50,000 in Oct. of 2007 after fans stormed the field following the Wildcats' upset of LSU.
The paper also reports that Meyer is believed to be the first coach in the SEC in any sport to be fined for public comments.
Precedent set, here's hoping it's applied equally.
I can only imagine what it'll be if Kiffin raises up again and questions the officials' integrity. He might have to leave Layla as a down payment.
That's what you call, "taking one for the team." Now every coach in the SEC will know how proportional the penalties are before they mouth off.
This is a joke. Why censor coaches for telling the truth? The SEC officials thus far have made some absolutely terrible calls and should be held accountable for those calls. I've never understood that "gag orders" in sports over publicly criticizing poor officiating. No one has a problem criticizing poor coaching or poor performance by actual competitors but when an official performs so poorly that it has a profound impact on a contest it should not only be pointed out by as many people as possible but it should be penalized by the governing body of that league.
hopefully this will qwell the haters.
i think the fine was a little steep given that a reporter asked the question. i don't think it's the same thing when a reporter directly asks you about the play and you respond, versus you bringing it up in a rage during postgame conferences.
but precedent set. here's hoping it is applied evenly from now on
damn 30k, that's almost shocking- i was thinking like 5 or something. wowwwwwww.
i'm glad he was fined tho for fair is fair-ness reasons.
sorry if any typo's- its from laughing while typing.
Mike Slive the name alone makes me want to take a shower. This putting refs up on a throne is irrating. These guys blow call after call & when anyone says anything about it they get fined. We need to change the system, this you can't argue goes against the nature of the game. Its a competition & the refs should be held to a higher standard also. People have been getting screwed over by refs for years & contrary to beleive they are not always the most honest guys in the business.
Mike Slive is a joke It must have hurt him so much to fine is buddy good ol' Urban Meyer. He is on a power trip! He needs to be ousted! I know others agree... Heck someone created www.firemikeslive.com
To the average Joe making the median salary, that would be $332.92. I'm guessing Urban's next check will still have the same number of zeros in it.
Interpretation of Urban's statement:
Ok, ok so you fined me. Those refs really stink and shouldn't be near the field of play except to sell popcorn.
Wow, hypocricy by the SEC commissioner. Phuck up the calls and then fine the people that know of the Phuck-up and are hurt by it the most. The ones that jobs are lost after enough of these screw ups. No, not other officials, coaches. Yes I am a gator, but I think Slive is too close to Slime even for me/
Screw Mike Slive and his puppet master ways... sure he has done some good but he is ridiculous! and like dsmith4444 said: "too close to slime"
http://www.firemikeslive.com
Instead of……
"All ya'll Gator haters can kiss my 4+ million per year ass. I'll pull Spikes back off suspension and have him gouge the referee's eyes out if he ain't gonna use them. Ain't no wonder SEC commish Sliver fined me; it will be the only SEC loss for Florida this year. Hey, what do you call 11 guys watching football on Jan 7th? Saban, Miles, Nutt, Spurrier, Richt, Kiffin, Nutt, etc., etc. I'll send ya'll a postcard from Pasadena. See ya."
I'm an Alabama fan, not a Gator fan by any means, but I think the fine was way too steep. Maybe $5,000 at most would have been appropriate, given that he just gave a matter-of-fact response to a question, didn't question anybody's integrity, and even mentioned how he went through the right procedures to report it to the SEC. This reminds me of the "zero-tolerance" policies school boards enact. A bunch of idiots (can you say "Kiffin") commit repeated and egregious offenses with little or no punishment -- because there is no clear cut "policy" on punishment in place -- and then the next little kid is expelled for some minor, first time offense. It's dumbfounding.
Maybe Mike Sliver can take the 30K and hire some real refs.
Sliver, stick it up your ass . . .
John,
Nice to see your bias coming through. No editorial on the fine amount? No editorial on the fact that it is unprecedented? Your editorial contribution is 0.75% of an annual salary?
Gotta love the hard hitting insightful commentary...perhaps you can post another stupid picture of someone mocking Tebow.
Randy: Way too steep?
Yes, I know $30,000 is a lot of jack to you or me, but let's put it in perspective. It's about 2/3 of ONE WEEK'S pay for Urban. AFTER TAXES.
To put in perspective, it's as if you had a $50k/year job, and got fined $475. Basically just enough money to make you feel the pain a little bit, but not going to bankrupt you by any means.