What started as a tense basketball matchup quickly turned into a social media firestorm when Kentucky fans launched an all-out digital assault on a referee’s personal business page following a series of controversial calls that many say cost the Wildcats a critical win.
The referee in question, whose name has not been officially released by the NCAA, reportedly owns a small roofing company based in the Midwest. Following Saturday night’s high-stakes game, where Kentucky narrowly lost by just three points in a game riddled with questionable foul calls and missed violations, angry supporters of Big Blue Nation did some digging—and found the official’s Facebook business page.
What happened next? Chaos.
Within hours, the page was flooded with one-star reviews, sarcastic comments, and memes accusing the referee of “letting the roof cave in on Kentucky’s tournament dreams.” One commenter wrote: “If his roofing skills are anything like his calls on the court, I’d expect a leaky disaster.” Another added, “Didn’t see a single foul on your roofing page either—must be blind there too.”
By Sunday morning, the company’s Facebook reviews had plummeted from a solid 4.8 rating to a shocking 2.1. Many of the negative posts were unrelated to roofing services at all, but instead were thinly veiled jabs at the game officiating.
While some fans found the behavior humorous and cathartic after a bitter loss, others called it immature and damaging, pointing out that the referee’s side business has nothing to do with NCAA officiating. Nonetheless, the incident has sparked widespread debate about the ethics of targeting someone’s livelihood over sports outcomes.
The NCAA has not issued a formal statement, but insiders say the incident could lead to increased privacy measures for game officials moving forward. Meanwhile, the roofing company has disabled reviews and limited public access to its page.
This isn’t the first time passionate college basketball fans have crossed lines, but it’s one of the most visible examples in the social media age—where sports, frustration, and digital sleuthing collide.
For Kentucky fans, the game may be over, but their anger found a new arena. And for one unlucky referee, a few questionable calls may have led to a storm he never saw coming.
