UPDATE:
Shatel's twitter:
Big 12 Conference administrators did not send any representatives to Friday's Nebraska-Colorado football game in Lincoln because the league feared for their safety, commissioner Dan Beebe confirmed to the Journal Star on Friday night.
Nebraska fans flooded the Big 12 office with negative e-mails and voice messages this week, some of which Beebe said were threatening. Those messages will be turned over to authorities, he said.
Beebe himself received more than 2,000 e-mails from Nebraska fans after Saturday's game at Texas A&M, when fans and coaches were upset with the officiating in Nebraska's 9-6 loss.
"There were many that were very, very vile, vulgar, disgusting messages, and a lot to administrative assistants and people who don't deserve any of this," Beebe said. "I mean, I'm a big boy, I can take it."
Beebe said a person in the NFL security field, whom he's previously consulted on other matters, advised the Big 12 to steer clear of Lincoln.
"He said we had to take this stuff seriously until we figure out what's going on," Beebe said. "It took us a long time -- of course, it's a holiday week -- to sort through all of those and figure out which ones were threatening, and we're going to turn them over to the authorities and contact the people who left the messages, if we can figure out who they are.
"A lot of them, we can read their numbers. One person was silly enough to put in an e-mail, ‘Are you dead yet? You should be packing a gun.'"
Of the voice mails to Beebe, one said, "If I see you on the street, I'm going to hit you in the head with a bottle and stab you," he said. "Somebody posted something on my daughter's Facebook that was derogatory. Somebody else called and acted like they were impersonating an officer, and said that they have my daughter, and she was unresponsive and they had to take her to the hospital."
Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said he wished not to respond to Beebe's comments.
"They got whatever they got, and they decided not to come," Osborne said. "That's OK. I don't have anything to say about that."
Is Osborne bothered by Nebraska fans sending the messages that Beebe described?
"I've said all I'm going to say. I've had all kinds of e-mails over the years. It's not a problem."
Nebraska, in its final season as a member of the Big 12, clinched the North Division championship with its 45-17 victory against Colorado. But with no Big 12 representatives on hand, there was no trophy presentation in the locker room.
Beebe said allegations from fans and media over a possible conspiracy to keep Nebraska from winning the Big 12 title have no merit.
"If there were a conspiracy, and if officials were involved, it would be easy to have a team lose just about every game possible," Beebe said. "That's a silly notion. Fans don't always think through things clearly. They have emotions on their sleeve."
Of the Texas A&M game, when Nebraska was flagged 16 times and Texas A&M two, Beebe said he had an outside consultant -- a former NFL official -- review the game.
"He thought it was a fairly officiated game," Beebe said, declining to name the person.
Beebe said the messages he received from Nebraska fans are from a small minority, and not representative of what he called one of the best fan bases in the country.
"I want to say -- and I want this clear -- my experience with Nebraska and their fan base and their administrations has been tremendous," Beebe said. "I'm sorry that we're losing such an outstanding institution. I've had a great experience with Chancellor (Harvey) Perlman, and I appreciate what he's done on this whole issue, and what Tom Osborne and Bo Pelini have done about how they want the program to be conducted."
Beebe and other Big 12 office administrators will be on hand when Nebraska plays the South Division champion in the title game Dec. 4 in Arlington, Texas.
LINK
Shatel's twitter:
Osborne: Beebe told him Big 12 wasn't at game to hand out North trophy because "they didn't feel safe'' after week of mail from NU fans.
LINK
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