Pittsburgh police chief resigns to referee college basketball

October 29, 2024 / Athletic Administration • Basketball

The Pittsburgh police chief has traded his badge for a referee’s whistle. Just a week after announcing he would add refereeing college basketball games to his schedule, Larry Scirotto announced his retirement last Friday.

Scirotto has been a referee at the college basketball level, but once he accepted the chief of police position last year, city leaders shared their concerns about juggling both jobs.

He had previously stated that refereeing would not interfere with his police chief duties and even offered to take a pay cut, but city council members still had doubts.

A recent story from MRT.com detailed Scirotto’s decision to resign. Below is an excerpt from the MRT.com story.

In his resignation letter, Scirotto said he did not want the issue to become a distraction for the department.

He was set to earn $187,000 next year as police chief. Veteran Division I basketball referees can earn more than $150,000 in a season while officiating dozens of games across multiple conferences. Less experienced referees earn far less.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey chose Scirotto to be the city’s next police chief in May 2023. The mayor had said that Scirotto would not continue working as a referee.

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“We had a conversation about this, and at this time, he will not being doing that,” Gainey said after appointing Scirotto.

To read the full story from MRT.com, click here.