The men’s NCAA Tournament hasn’t started yet, and it’s already lost 10% of the officials it selected to work the 68-team fandango. This is a very bad development for a sport that’s been dealing with an officiating crisis of confidence.
NCAA vice president for basketball Dan Gavitt confirmed on a media Zoom call Tuesday that six of the 60 tourney officials have been disqualified due to COVID-19 protocols. One tested positive and the other five are out due to contact tracing. This was a confluence of poor preparation and poor decision making.
The officials reported to their assigned hotel in Indianapolis on Sunday only to find that their rooms and meals weren’t ready, which is hard to excuse given the premium put on this event and its accompanying safety protocols.