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Higher Calling
As referees in the NFL and NBA, alumni Undrey Wash and Monty McCutchen hold two of the most exclusive and highly scrutinized jobs in the world. UT Arlington served as training ground for both.
A dozen large and angry men surrounded Undrey Wash on Super Bowl Sunday last February. They cussed, they pushed, they shoved. Wash, on all fours, head extended, pushed back as the melee engulfed him. But he wasn鈥檛 there to fight; his job was to determine the winner.
If you were among the 106.5 million TV viewers of Super Bowl XLIV, you remember the play. The ultimately victorious New Orleans Saints began the second half with an onside kick, resulting in a mad scramble for the football. The 1986 UT Arlington graduate has often stuck his nose in the middle of such free-for-alls during his 10 years as a National Football League official. But the stakes were never this听high.
Five months later, fellow alumnus Monty McCutchen played a similar role on pro basketball鈥檚 biggest stage. He headed the three-man crew that officiated Game 2 of the National Basketball Association Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. Hollywood A-listers Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the 19,000 who packed the Staples Center for the biggest show in town. Another 15 million watched on听TV.
Unlike pro football officials, who remain largely anonymous, NBA referees are widely recognized鈥攁nd critiqued. Boos cascaded every time McCutchen (鈥�88) called a foul on Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Through dark sunglasses, Nicholson glared at the 17-year NBA official. Even when McCutchen is right, which is most of the time, half the people won鈥檛 admit it. Fans, players, and coaches just want their team to win, and their passion sometimes turns venomous.
McCutchen and Wash say that鈥檚 part of the package when you ascend to the highest level of this elite occupation.
A STAR IN STRIPES
Close Calls
Undrey Wash compares being an umpire in the National Football League to 鈥渃rossing a freeway during rush听hour.鈥�
Wash鈥檚 road to the top began on the UT Arlington intramural fields. While pursuing his systems analysis degree, he earned $5 a game officiating various sports. His first taste of on-field animosity came in 1982 during a fraternity softball game. He called a runner out at second base, and the player began to听argue.
鈥�I could handle that. I had pretty thick skin. Then, all of a sudden, his girlfriend started to chime in on me,鈥� Wash says with a laugh. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I lost听it.鈥�
He decided to focus on football and moved quickly through the ranks: peewee, junior high, sub-varsity, varsity, small college. He worked in the Southwest Conference for a year before it dissolved, then moved to the Big 12. After a year in the instant replay booth, he officiated his first NFL game in 2000. At age 38 he was the second youngest official in the league.
NFL crews have seven members. Wash鈥檚 position is umpire, which until this season placed him in the middle of the defense. The umpire鈥檚 primary task is controlling the action between the offensive and defensive linemen. To survive, he learned to dodge 300-pound bodies intent on flattening everyone in their听path.
鈥�It was like crossing a freeway during rush hour,鈥� Wash says. 鈥淎nd it was only getting worse.鈥� That鈥檚 why the NFL moved umpires behind the offensive backfield this season, out of the line of听fire.
Even that vantage point wouldn鈥檛 have kept him from missing most of the 2007 season after rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee when a player celebrating a touchdown was pushed into him. That鈥檚 the only thing that has slowed Wash鈥檚 rise.
After working the playoffs and a couple of championship games, he knew he was among the league鈥檚 top-rated umpires. They鈥檙e graded on every play of every game, and only those who rank the highest advance to the postseason. But was he good enough for the world鈥檚 grandest sporting event?
鈥�You never know,鈥� he says, 鈥渦ntil you get that phone听call.鈥�
Mike Perreira, then director of NFL officiating operations, delivered the good news at the desk of Wash鈥檚 Las Colinas Allstate office, where he鈥檚 a claims controller on weekdays. As Wash thought about his injury, the birth of his daughter, and all the people who helped him along the way, tears welled.
鈥�It was an emotional moment,鈥� he says. 鈥淎s soon as you hang up the phone, you鈥檙e going, 鈥榊eah!鈥� 鈥�
As for the Super Bowl itself, Wash describes it as business as usual except for the thousands of camera flashes at the opening kickoff. And the onside kick. Before the game, the Saints鈥� special teams coach told him the surprise move was in their game plan, but Wash didn鈥檛 know听when.
鈥�I tried to put my hand in the pile and feel the ball,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a feeding frenzy and definitely survival of the fittest.鈥�
Wash estimates that football officials have less than a 1 percent chance of landing a spot on one of the NFL鈥檚 17 crews. Most who do never sniff the Super Bowl. Carl Cheffers, Wash鈥檚 friend and crew chief last season, knows how rare an accomplishment it听is.
鈥�Think about the thousands of officials who want to make it to the NFL. To be selected and have success is a great achievement in itself,鈥� Cheffers says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 get any higher validation of your work than to get to the NFL and work the Super Bowl. Undrey is among the very, very few to accomplish that听feat.鈥�
FROM INTRAMURALS TO THE听NBA
Conflict Resolution
National Basketball Association referee Monty McCutchen says dealing with disgruntled players is just part of the听job.
The NBA officiating fraternity is even more exclusive. Only 58 others share McCutchen鈥檚 profession. It鈥檚 a full-time job, unlike in the NFL, and the travel is tougher than being a New Jersey Nets fan. During the November-April regular season, McCutchen is on the road 24鈥�26 days a听month.
鈥�Being away from my wife and children is the hardest part of the job,鈥� he says from his home in Ashville, N.C. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in 14 cities in a month, that鈥檚 very stressful on family life.鈥�
McCutchen first put a whistle in his mouth working junior college intramurals. By the time he hit听the
UT Arlington intramural courts, he had officiated junior high, freshman, and junior varsity games.
鈥�The first time I blew my whistle, I didn鈥檛 raise my hand or do anything,鈥� he recalls with a laugh. 鈥淭hankfully, the kid I was trying to call a foul on raised his hand, or I might still be standing there听today.鈥�
As a 21-year-old junior, McCutchen quickly became the referee every intramural team requested. But he wanted more, so he wrote the NBA. The league replied that most of its officials had 15鈥�20 years experience and suggested he try the pro-am leagues.
With help from his dad, who borrowed money against a horse, McCutchen scraped together enough cash to travel to Los Angeles for a camp run by NBA referee Hugh Hollins. It was his first taste of life as a basketball official, and he was hooked. A week after graduating from UT Arlington with a degree in and , he moved to听L.A.
鈥�I knew officiating was something I was going to pursue and pursue wholeheartedly,鈥� he听says.
He was invited to a national pro-am league and eventually landed a job in the Continental Basketball Association, which serves as a training ground for NBA hopefuls. It was during a CBA game in Pensacola, Fla., that a fan spouted: 鈥淢cCutchen, you鈥檙e like 7-Up. Never had it, never will.鈥� It still makes him听laugh.
He was promoted to the NBA in 1993 at age 27 and, like Wash, was the second youngest referee in the league. He worked his first playoff game in 2000 and his first NBA Finals in听2009.
Now 44, McCutchen knows every NBA player (even those who never leave the bench), calls them by their first name, and expects the same respect in return. If he doesn鈥檛 get it, he says, he strives to remain approachable, firm, and above all, consistent. But with the world鈥檚 greatest athletes moving at breakneck speed, missed calls鈥攁nd conflict鈥攁re inevitable.
鈥�You must understand that you are going to fail,鈥� says McCutchen, who also officiated Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals. 鈥淗ard work minimizes failure, but you can鈥檛 be defensive about every call or you won鈥檛 grow and gain the confidence of those you work听with.鈥�
He鈥檚 obviously respected by the league鈥檚 officiating supervisors, as well as the coaches and general managers. They鈥檙e the evaluation team that determines which referees advance through the playoffs. With two NBA Finals under his belt, McCutchen is in rare company.
鈥�To reach the NBA Finals, Monty is considered one of the best,鈥� says Duke Callahan, who worked Game 2 alongside his friend. 鈥淗e puts the game first, the crew second, and himself third. That鈥檚 the sign of a great referee.鈥�
McCutchen and Wash have never met, but they are kindred spirits. They know what it鈥檚 like to work at one of the hardest and least-appreciated jobs in sports. And they know how it feels to reach the听top.
This is very cool, just goes to show how hard work and determination can get you far in this cynical world we live in. As a plus its also cool that we have Mavs in the world of professional sports.