Whats he doing on his back? Hes a motivational speaker and diversity recruiter in addition to being an NCAA referee, and I imagine hes awfully good at both. This was evident five years ago when my mother died in September and my father died in October during the football season. There is no better feeling then walking back into the locker room with your partners and knowing that we worked together as a team and that we gave everything we had for those 48 minutes. Per the Star, he was treated at the stadium for two hours with vital checks on pulse, blood pressure and oxygen level that came back normal. You went down because you had a blood clot in your lung.. You blacked out., I look to my right, and I see a stretcher. It puts in perspective the value of each day, because we all go through our lives were all guilty of it and we just live, right? I get to watch the Masters.. It goes: You scored, Billy I always thought he was a good dude, Lansing says. Referee, the worlds original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. They were pretty intense, man. Smith was taken off the . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. OK, so the night of March 29. I just cannot erase the pleasure from my face. I had grown up playing the sport, but for some unknown reason, playing was just not satisfying enough. Then again, isnt that what Bert Smith has always done? The reasons for our joy when we step on the field, court or ice are vast and every reason is forged in the fire of our individual experiences. Hes a motivational speaker anddiversity recruiterin addition to being an NCAA referee, and I imagine hes awfully good at both. Rules, interpretations, mechanics, philosophies and other information may or may not be correct for the current year. Bert Smith told the . The hugs were pretty intense, Smith says, and hes talking slowly again. Shes an important part of this story.. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. Everyones joking with him now. Do we do the things with our family and friends that have value to them? Hes a motivational speaker and diversity recruiter in addition to being an NCAA referee, and I imagine hes awfully good at both. After that he studies business administration at SUNY-Buffalo, gets a job at Avis Budget Group, moves fast up the ranks as his career takes him to Chicago, Houston and finally the Cincinnati area. He doesnt remember passing out, only that things got foggy, he says, and that his breathing didnt feel normal. They strapped me in! 2023 ABG-SI LLC. Smith tested positive for the coronavirus in August, but doctors cant say whether theres a correlation between COVID-19 and his blood clot. By 1993 hes an NCAA Division I official. He started on the lowest levels as a youth league official in 1990, began working Division I games in 1993 and. Devika Pawar. CBS provided an update on the medical status of referee Bert Smith following his collapse on the court Tuesday. All rights reserved. Turns out, that night probably saved Bert Smiths life. ", BAYLOR BEATS GONZAGA FOR FIRST NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP. They strapped me in! If hes going to walk, might as well make it a long one. Sometimes it just hits you. I dont know which bucket Im in.. Yeah man, you were staggering like you were fighting Ali., You were asking Mark Few for a job application because you were on his bench., Next thing you know, you were back in the ring again with Ali and you went down like a tree in a forest!. I love the challenge of being in complete control of your emotions, maintaining the calmness and the challenge to make a split-second decision in front of 60,000-100,000 screaming fans and knowing you have six crewmates that have your back in the heat of the battle. Thats normal to huff-and-puff, right? Turns out, nope, no concussion. Why is he lying down near the Gonzaga bench? At IU Health Methodist, the 56-year-old Smith was treated by Dr. Katie Trammel, "an important part of this story.". NCAA basketball official Bert Smith lies on the court after collapsing during the Gonzaga-USC men's game in the Elite Eight. Katie Trammel, he tells me slowly, then repeats her name, then spells it. Replay Of Referee Bert Smith Collapsing Swift Highlights 22.9K subscribers Subscribe 393 Share 158K views 1 year ago Replay Of Referee Collapsing Basketball Official Collapses Show more Show. Officials figure they run at least four miles during a game, and its not a jog but a series of sprints. The Big League College World Series (last August in Kalamazoo, Mich.) was probably the most fun Ive had on a ball field. You dont know where that clot was going next, he says. You have to be in excellent physical condition in order to be in the correct position to rule on plays. Its the best seat in the house. He'll just carry Karter on his shoulders, and yes,they'll use the stairs when everyone else rides the escalator. Something doesnt add up. Thats his wife of 33 years. I ran and grabbed his phone, and he checked his phone and within the first hour, he had 250 texts, and a lot of them from fellow referees. At the core of the reasons why I love to referee is a passion for the sport of soccer. There is no other avocation that I can think of that requires the level of physical and mental preparation that officiating mandates, and you have to dedicate yourself in order to be successful. 6 seed USC at Lucas Oil Stadium in . And they heard the sound his head made I heard it too, 30 rows away when it slammed onto the court. Smith, who became an NCAA Division I official in 1993, said he remembers the play preceding the fall. I always thought he was a good dude, Lansing says. He didn't have a headache or blurry vision. Andy Lyons/Getty NCAA Reveals Budget for Men's Basketball Tournament Is Almost Twice as Much the Women's Reporters Ross Dellenger and Jeff Borzello later tweeted that, according. View the profiles of professionals named "Bert Smith" on LinkedIn. 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. Now Bert Smith is laughing again. Every chance I get, I want to get my heart rate up, says Smith, 56, who takes the court 90 times a year with elite NCAA athletes. After that he studies business administration at SUNY-Buffalo, gets a job at Avis Budget Group, moves fast up the ranks as his career takes him to Chicago, Houston and finally the Cincinnati area. They suggest he go to the hospital to get examined for a concussion, just to be sure. The NCAA even distributed a statement announcing the news: Smith was O.K. Yeah man, you were staggering like you were fighting Ali., You were asking Mark Few for a job application because you were on his bench., Next thing you know, you were back in the ring again with Ali and you went down like a tree in a forest!. Once hospitalizedat first, he didnt even plan to godoctors discovered a troubling issue: a blood clot in his lungs. I look for officials I assign to have the same respect and values for the game as I do. Referee Fall in Gonzaga USC NCAA Game TBS Replay Gets Backlash Sports A Referee Collapsed at an NCAA Basketball Game. Medical officials tending to him on the floor insisted he be transported off the floor by the stretcher. 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. No, he said hed walk off under assistance. You went down because you had a blood clot in your lung.. Trammel wasnt as concerned with a CT scan on his skull as she was on why he fell in the first place. Well get there, but right now were moving too fast. Bert Smith (56) NCAA men's basketball Referee collapsed due to a blood clot in his lung during a tournament News Story. The NCAA announces that Smith has returned to the hotel, and its true. What happens next leads to a picture caught by IndyStar photographer Kelly Wilkinson. Hes working Gonzaga-USC the next day, and Bert and his crew are staying in one of the NCAA bubble hotels, Le Meridien. I hate the fact I passed out in the Elite Eight, he says, but you know what? Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. It kept me going.. The doctor says, Thats what Im taking you out on., I said: Listen, Doc, Im walking out of here. Well, says one of the doctors, at least sit on the stretcher. They insisted more. Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar. 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. Has it cued up on his iPad and everything. Why cant he catch his breath? People in the building, and I was one of them, thought he was dead. Its a wonderful place to be. Check this out.. 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. 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. Brett Smith, an NCAA college basketball referee, collapsed during a game. But slow down, OK? Gregg Doyel Indianapolis Star 0:00 0:56 INDIANAPOLIS - Bert Smith hasn't seen the moment that. He wasnt one of those guys you couldnt talk to. Its not some routine youre doing day in and day out. Scary video shows the ref falling backwards and hitting his head on the hardwood floor just four minutes into the March Madness game as other officials pause the match and run to his aid. Bert Smith doesnt remember any of thatand hasn't seen areplay of his fall, though he says he's almost ready to watch. The hugs were pretty intense, Smith says, and hes talking slowly again. Todays game is so fast and the players have such a high skill set that its very important to be in the best possible position to judge a play and make a call. Its a good week to be getting sympathy from the wife, he says, chuckling. Officiating is similar to playing the game full of emotion, both highs and lows. After all, he hit the court hard, so hard that it left a giant bump on the back of his head. 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. He rarely uses the elevator. He goes to IU Health Methodist. Later during the broadcast, they announced he was feeling OK and resting in the arena. 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. Hes feeling wobbly, so wobbly. Another was former Indiana State coach Greg Lansing. "But do we say 'I love you' enough? It does not store any personal data. Having to make those decisions in a split second is a challenge I enjoy. Now he wonders. Being able to handle situations that arise separates the average official from the capable arbiter. 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 . NCAA basketball official Bert Smith hasn't watched the moment that might have saved his life. Dr. Katie Trammel, hes wanting me to know, may have saved his life. I hear (other officials) say, I do it for the kids. Im not disagreeing with them when they say that and I enjoy being around the kids too, but theres a hundred other things I could do if I was doing it for the kids. Thats around the time he spilled onto the hardwood, awaking to a semicircle of people surrounding him. I love being part of the game. The whole thing is mysterious, because hes a sculpture of a man, 6-3 and 195 pounds. Smith is the college basketball official who passed out during the 2021 NCAA region final between Gonzaga and Southern California, toppling over like a fallen tree his description his body flat and unmoving, his eyes open and unseeing, a Gonzaga trainer frantically waving for help.