Don’t expect Ken Williamson to return next season.
The SEC referee, suspended for the remainder of the college football season this week, told officials before the opener that he was going to retire at season’s end, according to ESPN.
“The SEC does not comment on personnel matters,” a league spokesperson told the outlet.
Williamson found himself in the middle of a firestorm as the head official during Georgia’s 20-10 win over Auburn on Oct. 11, a game marred by several notable and controversial calls from the officiating crew.
In one, Auburn’s Jackson Arnold was ruled to have fumbled on a QB sneak on a third-and-goal play late in the first half with the Bulldogs recovering.
The call was upheld after a lengthy review, leading to Georgie marching its way to a field goal with 13 seconds left to end the half with a 10-3 deficit.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and Tigers athletic director John Cohen reportedly confronted Williamson as he headed to the locker room, with Freeze telling ESPN’s Molly McGrath at the half, “I have no clue how that doesn’t break the plane, no clue. We’re due a break, maybe, one of these damn times.”
According to YellowHammerNews, there were 11 total complaints lodged against Williamson and his crew after the game, with nine of them validated by the SEC.
Williamson’s high-profile suspension is a warning shot — and not just to referees, according to ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
“If a guy has consistently had rough outings where a league or conference has to call a coach or a call an athletic director and apologize for a miss … and that happens at a regular rate, this is groundbreaking,” he said on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday. “A guy in the middle of a season is asked to take a seat? I’ve never heard of anything like that.
“You talk about holding players and coaches and everybody accountable. Referees have always never really had to deal with that — maybe in the offseason, but not in-season. I think it’s an eye-opener. I’m a referee guy, I’m pro-referee, I think fans get way too emotional about it, but I’m interested to see what this leads to. If this is kinda like that first example and now you start to see it more and more, not just in college football, but in all sports.”
While the move to suspend Williamson is surprising, it’s not the first time this season the SEC has publicly acknowledged issues with its officiating, having issued a statement about a massive gaffe in No. 11 Oklahoma’s 24-17 win over the Tigers on Sept. 20.
