Frank Layden, Utah Jazz head coach in 80s and the latest recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, reflected on his stint on the sidelines, particularly on how he treated the referees.
Per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
“If there was anything I could change in my life, it was the way I treated referees.”
“If there was anything I could change in my life, it was the way I treated referees,” former Jazz coach Frank Layden said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 2, 2019
During his time with the Jazz, Layden became known for his rather rebellious attitude towards the officials. In a playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985, Layden decided to walk out of the arena after seeing his team down by a sizable deficit. He left the arena and headed to a sandwich shop nearby, causing all sorts of problems for his team and the officials.
On top of this are other arguments and exchanges with the referees. In one incident, he insulted the referees by calling them second-rate and was tagged with a $10,000 fine. In response, Layden said, per Ira Berkow of the New York Times:
”League officials told me, ‘You can't say that, it attacks the character of the league,' ” Layden said. ”I think it attacks the character of the league more when you're considered a bad guy if you tell the truth.”
Indeed, Layden was a controversial yet interesting figure on the sidelines.
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