AD Haden Fined $25K for On-Field Conduct
The PAC-12 has announced a $25,000 fine for USC athletics director Pat Haden's misconduct during the third quarter of Saturday's USC football game against Stanford in Palo Alto.
Haden left the press area and ran onto the sidelines to talk with the officiating crew after admitting he received a text message from a staff member saying that head coach Steve Sarkisian wanted him to be on the field to act as an intermediary between himself and the PAC-12 officials. Sarkisian was berating the game officials after receiving a sideline encroachment penalty and senior linebacker Hayes Pullard being ejected from the game for an unsportsmanlike targeting penalty on the ensuing play.
When Haden arrived on the sidelines, he engaged in the conversation between Sarkisian and the officials and at times could be seen yelling at the PAC-12 crew himself. Following the brief group discussion, Haden had an on-the-field interview with ABC discussing the interaction.
On Sunday, Haden released the following statement:
"I apologize to Commissioner Scott, to the game officials, to Stanford and to the fans for any distraction I might have caused during Saturday's football game. In retrospect, I should not have approached the game officials. I should have waited until after the game and gone through the appropriate channels."
In addition to the public apology, Haden issued himself a two-game sideline ban, keeping him off the field for the Trojans' games against Boston College and Oregon State. However, this was not sufficient enough for PAC-12 commissioner Larry Scott.
Scott announced Monday that Haden would be fined $25,000 for his inappropriate behavior during the game.
"The conduct by USC Athletics Director Pat Haden was inappropriate. Such actions by an administrator in attempt to influence the officiating, and ultimately the outcome of a contest, will not be tolerated," said Scott. "The conduct by both Sarkisian and Haden were in clear violation of our Conference's Standards of Conduct policy."
Sarkisian was also reprimanded by the conference and in response said, "I regret putting Pat in the situation I put him in on Saturday. It is my job to manage the game, not Pat's."
Haden is also a member of the inaugural College Football Playoff Selection Committee and following this incident, many called for his termination from the group of 13. However, the College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock put these rumors to rest in his following statement:
"Emotional outbursts at games are not a matter for the playoff selection committee to deal with. This does not affect Pat Haden's capability as a committee member. We recognize that athletics directors cannot be dispassionate about their own teams, and that's why we have the recusal policy."
The recusal policy mentioned means that any of the athletics directors on the board will not be able to participate in any discussions regarding their own institution.
Haden took to Twitter on Monday night to make it publicly known that he did not disapprove of Scott's punishment and sent the commissioner a check for $25,000 made out to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles for autsim research, a disease his 5-year-old grandson suffers from.
