Pac-12 Fines USC AD Pat Haden $25,000
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The Pac-12 handed USC athletic director Pat Haden a $25,000 fine on Monday for leaving the press box and heading down on the field to argue with an official during Saturday’s game against Stanford.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott did not think that Haden represented himself or USC well during the argument with the official.
“The conduct by [Haden] was inappropriate,” Scott said in a statement. “Such actions by an administrator in attempt to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest, will not be tolerated.”
USC head coach Steve Sarkisian sent a text to one of the USC staff in the press box during the third to relay the message to Haden.
“The conduct by both Sarkisian and Haden were in clear violation of our conference’s standards of conduct policy,” Scott said. “We appreciate the public apology and recognition of the errors in judgment, as well as Pat Haden’s self-imposed two-game sideline ban. We took this into consideration as we determined the discipline. Nonetheless, the actions fell short of our expectation of our head coaches and athletics directors as role models for our student-athletes and important leaders of our institutions.”
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