In the final moments of a men’s basketball game between Notre Dame and the University of California, Berkeley on Jan. 2, the Fighting Irish head coach, Micah Shrewsberry charged a referee following a flip-flopped call that cost Notre Dame the victory.
According to AP News, Notre Dame’s Logan Imes attempted to foul Cal’s Dai Dai Ames to prevent Ames from scoring a three-point shot. Initially, officials called the shot fair, but then ruled the foul occurred before the shot, and finally reversed course and ruled the shot fair again.
When Ames successfully completed the free throw, Shrewsberry can be seen on video charging from the Notre Dame bench toward referee Adam Flore. Shrewsberry was held back by several players and assistant coaches and eventually regained his composure.
According to People, Shrewberry was yelling and waving a towel at Flore before he was escorted back to the Notre Dame bench area.
The next day, Shrewberry made a statement apologizing for his actions.
“I want to apologize for what took place immediately after the Cal game last night,” Shrewsberry said in a statement released by Notre Dame. “My actions were inappropriate and not symbolic of the leader I strive to be and what Notre Dame expects of its coaches and educators. I will learn from this lack of judgment and be better in the future.”
Following Friday’s game, the ACC also released a statement describing how Shrewsbery “aggressively confronted” the referee. The ACC said the “unsportsmanlike behavior that was displayed is unacceptable and tarnishes the on-court play between these institutions.”
At this time, Notre Dame has not publicly announced if Shrewberry will face any disciplinary action for the outburst. The ACC said it considers the matter closed.
