Georgia AD Josh Brooks publicly challenges SEC offices to address controversial penalty reversal

The Georgia Bulldogs win over the Texas Longhorns didn’t come without some controversy. In particular, at one point in the second half, referees overruled their own pass interference call. That meant the interception on the play stood up and Texas would have a short field amid their comeback attempt.

In the aftermath of that decision and the game, Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks took to social media. There, he publicly challenged the SEC offices to address the controversial penalty reversal and the process by which it came about.

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“It is my privilege and duty to serve the University of Georgia and part of that responsibility is to stand up for my coaches, student-athletes, staff, and all of Dawg Nation.” Josh Brooks wrote. “As proud as I am of the resolve our team had, I am also equally disappointed and frustrated in some of the circumstances of our game Saturday night.”

Much of the concern about the decision came back to the process by which referees reversed the call. It had been announced as defensive pass interference, taking a major interception off the board. At that point, some Texas fans began throwing trash onto the field, causing a delay. It was after the delay when the referees got together and reversed the call.

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In the immediate aftermath of the call, there was a range in reactions from around college football. Many felt that the right call was ultimately made. Others, like Brooks, had questions about how the reversal came to be. Former Bulldog David Pollack called out the officials on the play. Meanwhile, head coach Kirby Smart himself called out the precedent set by overturning a call after fans created a stoppage.

“I don’t find it productive to publicly demean or embarrass officials or the conference office via social media. That would be no better than the physical action of throwing objects on the field. However, I will challenge the conference office on what happened and how it happened in the manner it did. Thankfully this did not cost our young men a hard fought win,” Brooks wrote.

“Disagreeing with a singular call is natural and will happen several times in every football game. I can accept that. What I cannot accept is the manner in which this specific call was reversed. The official claimed he erred in the call. My question is when did he realize the error? If it was before the delay that occurred due to fans throwing objects on the field, what stopped him before the head official made the announcement and spotted the ball? I have faith we, as a conference, will learn from this and get better. We must, because in the SEC it just means more.”

SEC explains controversial reversed pass interference call in Georgia-Texas

Early Sunday morning, the SEC released an explanation for the controversial reversed pass interference call in the Georgia-Texas game.

“The game officials gathered to discuss the play, which is permitted to ensure the proper penalty is enforced, at which time the calling official reported that he erred, and a foul should not have been called for defensive pass interference.  Consequently, Texas was awarded the ball at the Texas 9 yard line. While the original evaluation and assessment of the penalty was not properly executed, it is unacceptable to have debris thrown on the field at any time,” The statement said, in part.

“The disruption of the game due to debris being thrown onto the field will be reviewed by the Conference office related to SEC sportsmanship policies and procedures.”

Ultimately, the call didn’t cost Georgia the game, with the Bulldogs winning 30-15.