Referee Hits Memphis WR Joseph Scates In A Vulnerable Spot With Penalty Marker

Memphis Tigers wide receiver Joseph Scates took the most brutal hit in any college football game today, thanks to an official.

During a 44-38 overtime win against the Charlotte 49ers, Scates ran towards a teammate who fell to the ground. Fortunately, his teammate seemed fine, and the Tigers were about to get a pass interference penalty in their favor.

That’s when things took an incredibly painful turn for Scates. When the referee threw the marker to indicate the penalty, the flag ended up hitting the wideout in a vulnerable spot.

Yes, that vulnerable spot. The one you absolutely avoid at all costs.

I feel your pain, Scates, and so do countless other men.

I highly doubt that the referee did this on purpose. But at the same time, why couldn’t he have thrown it somewhere Scates wasn’t? He had several yards of open turf to land that flag, and that’s where it ended up? That should be an additional 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.

Like I said, the Tigers ended up getting the victory to improve to 8-2 overall on the season and 5-1 in the American Athletic Conference. But as the old saying goes, no victory comes without great sacrifice.

Scates relearned that lesson the hard way.