The referee in Saturday’s Celebration Bowl had a bit of bad news he had to pass along to the Jackson State faithful gathered inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Before getting to that, though, he had another message he wanted to get off his chest.
Right before announcing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against Jackson State that wiped out a touchdown in its game against South Carolina State, referee Rory Bernard took the unusual-but-commendable step of paying homage to military veterans while addressing the crowd.
“I’d like to salute our military veterans,” Bernard said, followed by an actual salute that drew some cheers from the audience.
After dropping his arm back down to his side, he revealed the penalty, which negated an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jackson State’s Travis Terrell Jr. that would have given the Tigers a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter in the annual matchup between the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Beyond an unbridled passion for the nation’s armed forces, Bernard’s unconventional gesture could perhaps be explained as a matter of timing.
The Celebration Bowl is the first event on a relatively crowded college football Saturday that also includes the Army-Navy Game and the Salute to Veterans Bowl between South Alabama and Western Michigan in Montgomery, Alabama.