Spurrier reprimanded by SEC for comments critical of officials

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Southeastern Conference reprimanded South Carolina&#39;s Steve Spurrier Monday for comments critical of league officials during his call-in radio show last week.<br> <br> Spurrier violated the SEC rule that ``clearly states the that the coaches, players and support personnel shall refrain from public criticism of officials, conference commissioner Mike Slive said.<br> <br> ``I have reminded coach Spurrier of his responsibility to comply with the policies of the SEC and this rule,&#39;&#39; Slive said.<br> <br> Spurrier complained to his audience about several bad calls the Gamecocks have gotten. Spurrier continued by saying that an official who lives in the Southeast might have a bias against some teams.<br> <br> ``In the SEC, I know how these guys are. They go out and have a beer with their buddies and they say, &#39;Man, you stuck it to them last week, you really got Spurrier and them Gamecocks, didn&#39;t you?&#39;&#39;&#39; Spurrier said.<br> <br> ``Everybody says that doesn&#39;t happen. But I think it does happen. I&#39;m in favor of referees who don&#39;t even know who you are and they come from different parts of the country,&#39;&#39; Spurrier said, according to The (Columbia) State.<br> <br> It was the second time Spurrier talked about officiating on his call-in show.<br> <br> In September, Spurrier recounted a conversation with the SEC&#39;s coordinator of officials after an 18-0 loss to Georgia.<br> <br> ``I heard our fans booing a lot the other night and later in the week I learned that Georgia should&#39;ve been called for about 12, 13 clips or holds during that game that wasn&#39;t called,&#39;&#39; Spurrier said Sept. 14.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m not berating the officials, but we learned later the head of officials said, &#39;Hey, those should&#39;ve been called,&#39;&#39; Spurrier said.<br> <br> SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said he did not know whether Spurrier got a call from Slive after those earlier comments.<br> <br> Slive, in a statement Monday, said further violations ``of conference policies of this nature may result in additional penalties.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Spurrier was not available for comment until after Monday&#39;s practice, South Carolina athletic spokesman Steve Fink said.