Bob CollinsNo more entries, please; we already have a winner in the This Week in Stupid competition.
It’s Mark Whipple, football — Shocking. I know! — coach at the University of Massachusetts who drew a parallel between a referee’s call and rape on Saturday while his team was getting smoked by Ohio University, 58-to-42.
Whipple called the officiating the worst he’s ever seen, particularly one non-call when a UMass receiver was roughed up.
‘‘We had a chance there with 16 down and they rape us, and he picks up the flag,’’ Whipple told reporters after the game.
He subsequently apologized by sending out a statement:
‘‘I am deeply sorry for the words I used on Saturday to describe a play in our game. It is unacceptable to make use of the word ‘rape’ in the way I did and I am very sorry for doing so. It is not a term that should ever be used in the manner I did.
It represents a lack of responsibility on my part as the leader of this program and a member of this university’s community, and I am disappointed with myself that I made this comparison when commenting after our game.
He’s been suspended for a week.
There’s no indication any reporter at the news conference challenged Whipple’s comparison.
