Does anyone remember the name Jim Leyland? Well he is the manager that showed the grace to publicly forgive Jim Joyce for the call he blew back in June taking a perfect game away from Galarraga. See here for a recap.
Well, Jim's "pissed" (his words), and I honestly don't blame him. He was accused of spitting on an umpire, what sound like what actually happened, was some sunflower seeds accidental shot out of his mouth when he was arguing a call at second base. Gross, but innocent in nature.
While he was ejected from the game, and Leyland himself is fine with that, to be accused of spitting on an umpire is serious stuff, and he is not going to stand for it.
As he stated to the Detroit Free Press:
"I'm tired of protecting umpires. I'm tired of not being able to say anything. I'm defending myself. If you want to kick me out, that's fine. I don't care about that because it sprayed on his shirt, but when you start to accuse somebody of doing something you better be careful."... and he's right. As referees we not only have to report the correct misconduct - but have to get the underlying misconduct correct. Men of good conscious can disagree if it was or was not a handball or yellow card (for example), but to accuse someone of doing something serious, you must be sure. A referee loses all credibility and integrity instantly otherwise.
Full story here, courtesy of USA Today.
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