Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. No one knows where the clot came from, per the Star. Thats normal to huff-and-puff, right? First as an athlete growing up in Buffalo, a high school small forward, receiver and 400-meter runner, then some junior college basketball. Smith was put on blood thinners and discharged two days later with the clot gone. Smith collapsed just over four minutes into the Elite Eight game between USC. Referee Bert Smith is taken off the court on a stretcher after collapsing during the first half of an Elite 8 game between Gonzaga and Southern California during the first half of an Elite 8 game . You dont know where that clot was going next, he says. Soccer has enriched my life ever since that fateful day in 1973 when my brother came home and said he made the high school soccer team. Next thing he remembers, hes looking at the ceiling of Lucas Oil Stadium. Katie Trammel, he tells me slowly, then repeats her name, then spells it. Berts on the sixth floor, and hes putting on his mask to run the stairs down to the fifth floor for ice, or to run up to the eighth floor to see his buddies. Refereeing soccer is more than a hobby or a job; it is my passion and it is ingrained in me so deeply that it is a part of me. Unfortunately we miss plays every night, but the challenge of trying to be perfect and get every play right is why I love it so much. I hate the fact I passed out in the Elite Eight, he says, but you know what? More than a week later, he hasnt watched the moment. Then he becomes a basketball official. When he arrived, in walked Katie M. Trammel, the physician who, in many ways, may have saved his life. Are you going to tell Bert Smith hes out of shape? "He's a great official, great person," Few said after his team's 85-66 win to advance to the Final Four. Everyones joking with him now. Then he becomes a basketball official. He runs. A few hours later, his officiating friends joined him at the hotel and suggested he go to the hospital to be evaluated for a concussion, just in case. All rights reserved. Off the court, doctors checked his vitals: blood pressure, heart rate, etc. As the doctor says: Sometimes you dont get a red flag. Whats he doing on his back? Smith was admitted into Methodist and put on blood thinners. You went down because you had a blood clot in your lung.. My love of officiating started when I was very young five to six years old. I literally grew up watching my dad, Glen, work a seemingly endless number of football and basketball games. They strapped me in! He was surrounded by medical professionals and eventually was helped on to a stretcher. Jacquie was waiting at the door. the college basketball official who passed out during themen's NCAA Tournamentregional final between Gonzaga and Southern California, Latest NCAA Men's College Basketball Scores and Schedules, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Hes feeling wobbly, so wobbly. Referee Bert Smith is tended to by training staff and medical personnel after collapsing during the first half of the Elite Eight round game between the USC Trojans and the Gonzaga Bulldogs during . He told the Star he's happy it happened during the Elite Eight when he could get the right help he needed rather than during an instance when he was driving or sleeping. Heres where Im tell him about that Kelly Wilkinson picture, how he looks so angry on the stretcher. Smith, a veteran college basketball official of 28 years, lost consciousness five minutes into the game, falling backward in a scary moment captured on the TBS broadcast and banging his head against the hardwood court. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. His wife has seen it once, and shell never watch it again. She said: I got the answer to the question. According to kenpom.com, the Gonzaga-USC game was the 70th matchup Smith worked this season. The former NCAA national mens basketball officiating coordinator, John Adams, says Bert is funny but quiet, not a me-first guy. Adams was one of the 500 who reached out to Smith. And they found out. NCAA ref Bert Smith (Buffalo) said to be doing well after collapse - WGRZ You know the rules, have studied the pregame intel and use your experience to go read and react to the actions. NCAA Tournament referee Bert Smith collapse during game saved his life Bert. There was an error submitting your subscription. Smith abruptly collapsed during an Elite Eight game between No. This season he worked about 90 games, including dates in the ACC, Big East, Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conference. " Bert Smith, an official assigned to work the Gonzaga-Southern California regional final, left tonight's game after a medical issue ," the NCAA said in a statement. Check this out.. After his nationally televised fall, Smith had more than 500 texts, emails and calls to return, and by Wednesday hed returned them all. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Smith says the fall and subsequent battery of testing was a life-saving ordeal. The scary moment was caught. Hospitalized with a blood clot. Look at his scowl. However, minutes into the game, the NCAA tournament ended up experiencing a scary moment. 200+ "Bert Smith" profiles | LinkedIn It kept me going.. Hes on the stretcher, and hes not even a little bit happy about it. The hugs were pretty intense, Smith says, and hes talking slowly again. View the profiles of professionals named "Bert Smith" on LinkedIn. Smiths also grateful that his health scare, if it was going to happen,took place during the NCAA Tournament and not when he was driving or sleeping. 2023 www.southbendtribune.com. Smith tested positive for the coronavirus in August, but doctors cant say whether theres a correlation between COVID-19 and his blood clot. Bert Smith doesnt remember any of thatand hasn't seen areplay of his fall, though he says he's almost ready to watch. Subscribe to get the Referee.com Review every week plus periodic free training and special offers on the sports you officiate. Please try again. To me, he offers an aside: Hes taking advantage of a guy in a weakened position., The doc says, Swing your legs around. I swing my legs around, and they go: Click-click-click-click. He works his first game at age 24. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs remained undefeated and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament with a dominant 85-66 win over USC on Tuesday . I want to know why you fell. She checked a few things out, came back in, and took me through the car wash. Just a lot of tests. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The challenges of officiating are a great motivation and fun you gotta love it! I thought he was a good official, a fair official, and when you saw him at a game, you knew you were going to get a good whistle from him., Smith says well see him at games next season I could work again in seven to 10 days, he says but for now he wants to thank some people publicly. We make the calls and put up with the jeers because we love officiating. Now Bert Smith is laughing again. You meet just about every type of person there is that exists and you have to learn to deal with all of them in a manner that shows that you deserve to be called an official. You meet cheaters, schemers, geniuses and idiots. Smith trains year round on a treadmill or stationary bike, and gets in other workouts like when the family goes to Disney World in Florida and Smith says they dont need a stroller for their grandson, Karter. Bad news for ACC basketball: One of the sport's best referees is 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Its deep, and its contagious. The doctor said, Listen, tell you what, why dont you just sit on the stretcher? I said OK, I can do that, Smith says and now hes laughing. Thats 1990. I look for officials I assign to have the same respect and values for the game as I do. Why is he lying down near the Gonzaga bench? We won't send you spam. Game official Bert Smith collapsed and was taken off the court on a gurney during the first half of the men's NCAA basketball game between the USC Trojans . Presently I officiate in nine D-I conferences. No matter who you meet, you have to deal with them as people who deserve the best from you. Hes a motivational speaker and diversity recruiter in addition to being an NCAA referee, and I imagine hes awfully good at both. "But do we say 'I love you' enough? This article is the copyright of Referee Enterprises, Inc., and may not be republished in whole or in part online, in print or in any capacity without expressed written permission from Referee. Whats that for? OK, so the night of March 29. By age 11, I was organizing all the neighborhood kids in pick up games and by age 14, I got certified to referee and started coaching. Add to that the extreme climate conditions that officials encounter and you quickly understand the importance of physical conditioning for officials. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. I hate the fact I passed out in the Elite Eight, he says, but you know what? Hes feeling wobbly, so wobbly. Mar 31st, 2021. Moves fast, this guy. I didnt miss a game that season, because working the games was my therapy. Hell just carry Karter on his shoulders, and yes theyll use the stairs when everyone else rides the escalator. As a person with a disability, Im pleased to be a part of a profession that doesnt discriminate against what I cant do and emphasizes what I can. Where did it come from? Smith was admitted into Methodist and put on blood thinners. He said no. Thats 1990. Im ready to get after it, he says. I realized, even back then, how fun and rewarding each officiating experience was for the crew. Trammel was at Methodistthe night of March 30. Hes huffing and puffing a little, but hes running stairs in a mask. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Official collapses during NCAA tournament, wheeled off court on Referee Bert Smith collapses at Gonzaga-USC March Madness game - KVUE Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
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