2/22/22
Coach Dale Thomas, of Oregon State and a member of the NCAA wrestling rules committee, took his team to Fresno State to wrestle a dual match in the late 1960s. I officiated the match. Coach Thomas got in my face over a call I made. The Oregon State wrestler had pulled down his top while still on the mat, which according to the rules, resulted in a team penalty point. Coach Thomas raced out to where I was standing and began yelling in my face and pointing his finger. The home team crowd, which had benefited from the call, went crazy and started yelling at Coach Thomas.
But they couldn’t hear the conversation. What Coach Thomas said to me was: Good call young man, good call all the while shaking that finger at me. You see he was trying to motivate his team to try harder. I learned a valuable lesson that day that everything is not always as it appears. We need to be careful and reserve our judgment about others until we know all the facts. They might just be pulling a Coach Thomas. Now that’s Good News.
