Turns out, school spirit has its limits.
Veteran Pac-12 Conference basketball official Randy McCall evoked a seldom-used rule Thursday night during a game between Arizona and Arizona State in Tempe. As Arizona State guard Remy Martin lined up a second-half free throw attempt, an Arizona cheerleader taunted, "Not today, Remy," through his megaphone. McCall first stared the cheerleader down, then walked to the scorer's table and ejected him, stating, "This guy needs to get out of here."
The referee later told The Arizona Republic, "He was yelling, using the [megaphone] to call out people by name, which is not acceptable. And he was asked to please stop, and he chose not to."
According to ESPN.com, Rule 10, Article 8 of the official referee handbook states that cheerleaders "shall not commit an unsportsmanlike act," such as "using musical instruments, amplified music or artificial noisemakers while the game is in progress, except timeouts and intermissions." In cases of "extreme or excessive" behavior, ejection is a possible remedy.
Alas, Arizona got by without the sideline support, winning the game, 77-70.
