ACC Ref Karl Hess is one of the most recognizable referees that works the conference's basketball games, but now he finds himself out of a job. Hess had a reputation for getting into it with fans during games, and the ACC has cut him loose after he took one such incident too far.

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Hess was working the Louisville game when they faced Wake Forest last weekend, and he made a derogatory comment to Mit Shah, who is the former chairman of the board of trustees at Wake Forest.

According to CBS Sports, the ACC terminated its relationship with Hess following the incident. He had been officiating games for the conference for a quarter of a century prior to his release.

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Hess confirmed that he had been let go and called it a "sad day." He also said that he meant no harm by the remark. "I wasn't trying to deliberately hurt anyone," said Hess. "That's not my character. I goof around a lot, and there was no intent to hurt anyone."

Hess is also the referee that famously ejected former NC State star Tom Gugliotta from his courtside seat at a Wolfpack game in 2012.