Iowa State football: Paul Rhoads reacts to Jamie Pollard’s comments

In his weekly press conference, Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads defended his athletic director after the comments he made about Big 12 officiating following the loss to Oklahoma State.

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“I’m privileged to have a boss that is that passionate about this athletic department and this university,” Rhoads said about Jamie Pollard. “That he was willing to stand up and say the things that he did — I benefit from that as the leader of this program, and certainly our coaching staff does as well.

“All of our student-athletes in the athletic department know what kind of man they have leading them, and certainly the fans, boosters, and alumni of this university are represented as well. I am appreciative of that.”

John Walters, the voice of the Cyclones, banged a similar drum after Pollard went on his passionate speech after the loss.

This is a situation that doesn’t have a right or wrong opinion. National pundits criticize Pollard for doing this, asking why he would react like this after the game especially considering the fine or punishment he will get from the Big 12. It’s all right to have that opinion, although when talking about it you should at least get the head coach’s name right.

“I’m privileged to have a boss that is that passionate about this athletic department and this university.”

As previous stated here, it was more than all of that. Pollard reacted the way he did to stop the fires from spreading around Rhoads and his football team and to put the attention on him. Those that follow the Cyclones know it was a smart thing to do, and that he wasn’t wrong in anything that he said — although we don’t really know what the whole “lone vote” topic was about.

Not allowing open criticism on Big 12 officials is a fair rule because a lot of it is based on judgement. But when officials blatantly don’t follow the rules they’re supposed to, it should be fair game. The Big 12 has yet to apologize for the officials’ mistake or punish Pollard on Monday morning.