“Your Dad Was Wrong”: $12,000 and Daughter’s Undue Respect Taught Hall of Fame Coach Important Lesson About Embarrassing a Referee

Back in 1995, during a game between Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings, an incident unfolded. Bill Cowher, the HOF and Steelers’ Coach, and Ben Montgomery, a line judge, were involved. Cowher counted 11 players on the field, while Montgomery counted 12. Remembering the day, the coach opened up about what happened on that day and how his daughter responded to all that.

In a recent interview on ‘Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger,’ Coach Cowher revisited the incident. The tension grew as he received a hefty fine for the incident, prompting him to demand the truth from his team. Cameras captured his fiery reaction towards an official, leaving Cowher torn between vindication and regret.

Bill Cowher remembers the day and his daughter’s approval

Reflecting on the incident during the interview, Coach Cowher shared his thoughts. He received a fine letter of $12,000 (corrected to $7,500, per The New York Times) for the infamous 12-player incident. Cowher admitted getting angry and demanding players to tell him the truth.

As the teams and officials headed to the locker room, cameras captured Cowher’s fiery reaction, stuffing the Polaroid into official Gordon McCarter’s pocket. This display of anger made Cowher feel vindicated at the moment.

After the game, Cowher’s daughter Lauren praised him for doing a ‘great job’ with his actions towards the official. Cowher admitted to his daughter that he was wrong to react that way, but he also believed that McCarter was wrong.

He said, “And the great true story about that is after the game, my daughter came up and said Daddy, I’m so glad you did that to that official.” Coach Cowher continued. “I said, no Lauren, your dad was wrong. You don’t show people up like that, but he was wrong too (daughter asks again). (Cowher answered) He was wrong, but two wrongs do not make a right.”

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Ultimately, he understood that two wrongs don’t justify each other. However, what did the actual footage show, and who was guilty?

Who was fair in evidence?

To share this lesson on ‘Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger,’ Cowher began by expressing his respect for Gordon McCarter, the official involved. Unfortunately, McCarter had passed away. Cowher mentioned the missed field goal against the Vikings and how someone named Blake claimed they had 12 players on the field. Despite Cowher’s belief that they had only 11, confusion persisted on the sidelines.

Infuriated by the penalty, Cowher stuffed a photo into a referee’s shirt. As a consequence, he was fined $7,500. Calling a timeout, Cowher insisted on clarification. However, he was informed that the call was not reviewable. Ironically, the photo Cowher stuffed into McCarter’s pocket showed that the Steelers had only 11 players on the field, not 12. This evidence confirmed that the penalty call was wrong.

The officials responsible for the miscalculation, Montgomery and referee Gordon McCarter, faced penalties as well. Montgomery and McCarter were suspended for a game each, and the league fined them the equivalent of one game’s paycheck.

However, at that time, league rules did not allow photographic evidence to overturn calls. Consequently, despite the proof, nothing could be done, costing the Steelers three points in their eventual 44-24 loss to the Vikings.

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