Providence coach Ed Cooley T’d up for leading his own huddle

Trailing by eight late against Dayton, Providence coach Ed Cooley slammed his chair before leading his team’s huddle. And was given a technical foul:

Cooley didn’t intentionally throw his chair. He didn’t berate or physically confront a referee, or try to make a mockery of their officiating. He didn’t berate or physically confront a player on an opposing team. He didn’t berate or physically confront a player on his own team. He hit a chair and the chair slid back a few feet.

We understand that the referees’ job is to maintain order, and that to a certain extent, a chair getting hit is a form of disorder. But this is a coach venting his emotions to himself in his own huddle. That’s not supposed to be something referees can penalize.

The game was probably a tad too far out of reach for the Friars to make it back, and the Flyers only made one of two free throws, but still, this is an example of bad officiating and we’re going to point it out.