Released on = February 10, 2007, 11:58 pm

Press Release Author = Ed Anderson

Industry = Internet & Online

Press Release Summary = OJ Mayo intentionally knocks a referee to the floor and
people blame the referee for the incident

Press Release Body = (Bloomington, Ind.) Have you seen the video of OJ Mayo
knocking a referee to the floor? I did just today and not just once or twice. In
fact, at this point, I can\'t even tell you how many times I\'ve looked at it. From
the comments I\'ve seen, though, viewers seem to overwhelmingly feel the referee \"had
it out\" for Mayo and overdramatized the incident by flopping to the floor. If you
think that, too, you\'re dead wrong. Here\'s why:

1. Compare Mayo\'s stride as he walks towards the official with the steps he takes
as he\'s leaving the court after being ejected. While advancing on the ref, his
stride is longer and quicker and, with his upper torso leaning forward, he is moving
with more force and purpose than what he is as he exits the court.

2. Notice the angle that Mayo is walking. He is bearing straight down on the
official as opposed to coming at a wider angle to head him off and intercept him.
He\'s clearly looking to make contact.

3. Look closely at Mayo\'s last step with his right foot as he is about to make
contact. He swings it far out to the right in an effort to keep his bearing on
making contact.

4. By swinging his right foot out, Mayo turned or opened up his upper body so as to
make full contact with his left shoulder, arm and left side of his chest with the
referee. Mayo appears to be 4-6 inches taller than the referee so his upper body is
higher than that of the official. As a result, the referee\'s movement post contact
is both to the left and downward.

5. Mayo makes contact with enough force that, after striking the official, he,
himself, is thrown off balance. In other words, he collides with the ref with such
force that once the ref is no longer an impediment to his forward momentum, he
lurches forward. That shows he did not slow up. He, in effect, ran through the
ref.

6. Now, focus on the referee. He clearly is not anticipating what is coming
because he\'s looking at the scorer\'s table and signaling with his hands. The
contact takes him by surprise.

7. Look at the referee\'s last steps. Just prior to contact, his right foot has
pushed off the floor and his left foot is striking the floor, which means, of
course, that he has transferred his body weight on the left side. Thus, the
referee\'s body is already inclined to move left as he is knocked off stride by the
contact. That is what sends the referee flying, not flopping.

8. As the referee falls to the floor, he allows his body to go with the motion
rather than trying to counter it. That\'s the smart thing to do in a fall. If you
jump from a car, you want your body to go forward with the motion of the car, not
backwards and against it. If you jump from a wall, you hit the ground and roll in
the direction your fall takes you. It\'s the same principle.

9. As the referee falls he extends his arms and hands forward, which lead some
people to concude he took a \"dive.\" Wrong again. Extending your upper extremities
as you fall down is the correct thing to do to avoid landing hard on your body or
banging your head.

Now, that you\'ve read this, go look at the clip again. Pause it and rewind it at
every critical juncture to see if you agree with what I see.

Here\'s what ticks me off. Mayo hires an attorney and obtains a injunction
prohibiting the enforcement of sanctions and then, through his attorney, negotiates
a penalty of a three-game suspension. I guess if your name is OJ and you go to USC
you can get away with murder--literally and figuratively.


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Contact Details = Ed Anderson
9003 Emerald Court
Nashville, IN 47448
voodoostew@aim.com