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Infamous college basketball referee Karl Hess will no longer be taking his talents to an ACC arena near you. The ACC has terminated its contract with Karl Hess, and he will no longer be officiating ACC basketball games. This news was first reported by the David Glenn Show and comes just a few days after former chairman of the Wake Forest University board of trustees Mit Shah tweeted about an insensitive remark Hess made towards Shah during Wake Forest's contest against Louisville.
Hess told ESPN's Jeff Goodman the comment was made in jest. "I wasn't trying to deliberately hurt anyone," Hess said. "That's not my character. I goof around a lot, and there was no intent to hurt anyone."
Multiple sources told @DavidGlennShow and @ACCSports the ACC is ending its relationship with controversial BB official Karl Hess. More soon.
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) January 9, 2015
Karl Hess to me at the Wake-Louisville game tonight..."When I'm older, I want to sit in your seat & watch your Egyptian ass ref a game" #Wow
— Mit Shah (@MitShahNoble) January 5, 2015
This was not Hess' first controversial call in the ACC. In 2012 he ejected former N.C. State players Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani. He was reprimanded by the ACC for this action and did not officiate another N.C. State game until this season, when he promptly gave head coach Mark Gottfried a technical within the first few minutes of the game.
Perhaps all you have to know about Karl Hess is that I was able to search his name in our photo editor and had a number of options to choose from. You can't say that about too many officials, but you can about Mr. Hess. Clearly there won't be any more photos of him taken officiating an ACC game anytime soon.
Mit Shah, you the real MVP.