Yesterday, Louisiana baseball coach Tony Robichaux was ejected after protesting a call in the third inning that went against his team.

According to Sun Belt Conference rules, an ejection of a coach in any sport merits a one-game suspension, pending appeal.

After speaking with his athletic director, Robichaux filed a written appeal at about 6:30.  I got a text message at 11:30 saying Robichaux's appeal was denied.  He'll sit out today's game against Arkansas State.

The Cajuns are 0-1 in pool play.  Not only do they need to win their last two games, they need help from ASU and FIU if they're going to meet Arkansas-Little Rock in the championship game on Sunday.

But this suspension is wrong on so many fronts.

In fact, if suspensions need to be made, Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters should probably start with the umpiring crew that perpetrated the entire scenario.

But before we get to that, let's begin with the edict.

If you take the Sun Belt Conference rule at face value, it's a good rule.  I'm all for sportsmanship.  We all are.  And holding coaches responsible for their behavior on the court/field is a good thing.

But not all sports are the same.

In football, you get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.  In basketball, you get a technical foul.  In soccer and volleyball, you get a card.  All of these are warnings for the coaches.

In baseball (and softball) you get tossed.  Now, if you're arguing balls and strikes, a warning is usually given.  But none was give here.

That's what makes the blanket rule unfair.  And, since those sports are different, the rule should be different.

A rule that states "a coach getting ejected must file a report with the Commissioner who may, if the ejection is deemed egregious, may issue a one-game suspension" would make so much more sense.  A second ejection in a season would automatically carry the suspension.

But nope.  Not in the Sun Belt Conference.

Here the suspension is automatic.  It can be turned over on appeal, which consists of a written report by the coach to the Commissioner.  For the sake of fairness, it should be pointed out that the Commissioner, who obviously is rarely present when these violations take place, also has a copy of the umpire's report, which the umpire must fill out after the game.

The Commissioner reads.  The Commissioner reacts.  The Commissioner rules.  Now, and maybe it's just me, but I'd think before issuing something as important as a suspension, maybe I'd talk to the parties involved.  Nope.

Here's what happened yesterday, based on everything I've seen and learned.  I want to point out that, obviously, I have not talked to any of the umpires.  God forbid they should ever have to explain their actions to folks like us  I did, however, talk to some experienced officials who gave me their opinions as to how the umpires handled the situation.

In the bottom of the third inning, with the score tied 1-1, Alex Fuselier laid down a bunt down the first base line.  First baseman Brad Hook fielded the ball and attempted to tag Fuselier, who attempted to avoid the tag.  First base umpire Mike Grace was blocked out, since the attempted tag was on Fuselier's back.  He looked to home plate umpire Scott Kennedy for help, but Kennedy claimed he couldn't tell if a tag was applied.

Now, at this point, if neither umpire saw a tag and neither umpire ruled that Fuselier went out of the baseline to avoid the tag, then the batter has to be safe.  That's not an opinion.

Grace and Kennedy conferred with second base umpire Ray Gregson and third base umpire Scott Cline for about two minutes.  During that time, Robichaux and South Alabama coach Steve Kittrell were both out of their respective dugouts, standing near the baseline.

Someone was about to get tossed.

Now, freeze the tape for a minute, because I have a question or comment or two.

First of all, I'm all for umpires conferring to get the call right.  I even said at the beginning of the confab that I'd be okay with the ruling, however it went.  Get the call right.

But, in this case, with the two umpires right on top of the play unable to make a call, could they possibly get it right?  The only umpire with a possibility would be Cline, who may have seen Fuselier's uniform shirt move when the tag was applied.  But it couldn't have moved that much and Cline was more than 100 feet away.

Moreover, any conversation should have taken about fifteen seconds.  Ask the second base umpire and the third base umpire "Did you see a tag?"  If the answer is no, Fuselier is safe.  If the answer is yes, he's out.  Answer the question, make the call.

But that isn't what happened.  They conferred for two full minutes before making a decision and for the life of me, I can't figure out why, except for one explanation.

They took the rest of the time to figure out how to cover their butts.

Now, if anyone wants to make an alternate plausible explanation, great.  But neither I nor the officials I talked to could come up with one.

And, that's why someone was about to get ejected.  There was no way a coach was going to accept the outcome, no matter what it was, especially after the time it took to make the call.

The meeting broke up and Grace, who never saw the play, called Fuselier out.

Now, coaches arent choirboys and it didn't take long for the conversation go grow heated. Things were said.  I'm pretty sure we can safely say that.  As Robichaux grew more frustrated, the conversation grew even bigger legs.  And finally, Grace gave Robichaux the heave-ho.

Now, freeze the tape again.

Remember that an ejection carries an automatic suspension and sometimes umpires gotta do what they gotta do.  But it's also an umpire's job to try to keep a coach in the game, if possible.

And, that's where the rest of the crew failed.

At some point in time, one of the other officials should have entered the discussion and tried to get between Grace and Robichaux.  Grace would have seen the umpire coming and at the right time, turned away.  The other umpire would have gotten between them and said something to the effect of "Hey Tony, that's enough.  Don't get yourself thrown out."  And if Robe did anything to get past the umpire and continue the confrontation, then hey, he deserved what he got.

But that didn't happen.  And, that's on the other three guys out there.

So, what do we have here.  We have a call that two umpires on top of the play couldn't make.  We have a conversation that should have been brief carry on for two minutes.  We have a call that has to have been made by someone who was more than 100 feet away.   We have three umpires who did nothing to try to keep the coach in the game, although they all knew full well that all hell was going to break loose.

If THAT appeal can't get sustained, none will.

I'm guessing here, and this is just my opinion, that if this happens in the regular season, there's a good chance Robichaux doesn't get suspended.  But this is in the conference tournament, the showcase for the league.  We've got to support our umpires and we've got to show that we mean business with our sportsmanship, right?  Again, my opinion.

But let's get back to the rule.  It's just plain wrong.

Yesterday, the third base coach for Southern Miss got tossed.  He'll be back in the box today.  There is no auto suspension in that league.  There isn't one in the SEC, either.

But this is the Sun Belt.

Where the policy is wrong.  And so is the procedure.

More From 103.3 The GOAT