OSU Coach Travis Ford Gets Ejected From Son's High School Game, Later Apologizes

Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Travis Ford was ejected from his son's basketball game in Bixby on Thursday night after an argument with an official.

He apologized on Friday with the following statement:

"We have consistent dialogue with our student-athletes about their representation of Oklahoma State University and Cowboy Basketball. The lesson is always that there are no days off from that responsibility. While people can debate whether my comments to a referee during a high school game involving my son warranted being asked to leave the building, as Mike Holder and I discussed this morning, there is no question I should have exercised better judgement in not publicly expressing my feelings. I regret the situation, and apologize for the unfortunate and unwanted distraction it has caused."

News On 6 sports reporter Charlie Hannema says a person at the game told him Ford didn't say much more than "blow your whistle," but the group of fans he'd been sitting with had been on the officials throughout the game.

It’s OSSAA officiating protocol to issue a warning before ejecting fans, which did not happen in this incident.

After the game, Coach Ford and the official, Rick Smith, met in a private office and attempted to make peace.