Basketball referee John Higgins met with law enforcement authorities for more than two hours on Tuesday after receiving death threats from Kentucky fans, according to a report from ESPN.
Higgins worked Sunday’s Elite Eight game between the Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels, a game the Tar Heels won 75-73 in the final seconds.
Kentucky fans rioted in the streets after the loss, burning televisions and couches, and later turned their attention to Higgins. He not only received damaging and false reviews on his business’ Facebook page, but also had death threats and was pestered by angry Kentucky fans repeatedly calling his company’s office and home phone number, despite the latter being unlisted, according to the ESPN report.
The complaint among Kentucky fans apparently centers around the number of foul calls in the game, and fans have targeted Higgins as the culprit. After the game, head coach John Calipari shared his own beef with what he felt was the excessive amount of fouls called in the loss.
“You know, it’s amazing that we were in that game where they practically fouled out my team,” said Calipari on Sunday. “Amazing that we had a chance.”
Kentucky was whistled for 19 fouls in the game -- just 1 more than UNC, which was whistled for 18.
Higgins is among the referees who will be working this weekend’s Final Four games in Phoenix.
