There was a scene in the Academy Award-winning Crash in which Thandie Newton got felt up by an L.A. policeman while Newton's on-screen husband, played by Terrence Howard, looked on.

He did nothing, although he would later question what he was supposed to do in the face of an armed officer.

Newton's character was furious at her husband, not because of what happened to her but because Howard's character never even attempted to stand up for her. While I was always able to sympathize with Howard's character, given the stereotype we believe about L.A. cops, I was more able to empathize with Newton's.

Today, OU President David Boren won my undying loyalty for standing up to not only the Pac 10 conference but to his own Big 12 commissioner, Kevin Weiberg. Boren fired off a letter demanding an investigation into Saturday's debacle between the Sooners and Ducks at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., and told reporters that it was time for Weiberg to earn his keep.

I'm not aware of any bad blood between Boren and the conference office; however, it's not like Weiberg had as-of-yet even commented on the joke that was the officiating, which indisputably cost OU a win on Saturday. Among Boren's requests was an unlikely one -- that the result of Saturday's game be ruled a no contest.

Not that he got the idea from me, but that's exactly what I espoused on Sunday. To me, ruling that game a no contest would be a way for the officiating crew, the Pac 10 conference and the University of Oregon to save face while granting Oklahoma a tad bit of justice.

Why is justice important in a college football game?

It isn't 99 percent of the time because 99 percent of the time, a call on the field is one of judgment.

Even last year's Oklahoma loss to Texas Tech ended on a play and subsequently a call that was completely left to judgment. Did the Red Raider cross the goalline? Well, truth is, football rules relating to the goalline are more about plane geometry than they are about anything that is empirical.

However, that Oregon's Brian Paysinger touched Oregon's onside kick at the 39-yard-line is beyond dispute. Pac 10 officials suspended David Cutaia's crew for one game because they concluded the same thing.

This crew included replay official Gordon Riese who was a line judge in the greatest, most controversial play in college football history -- The Play -- when Cal managed to lateral a kickoff some 52 yards for a score in the midst of the Stanford band pouring onto the field. Stanford players and coaches pleaded their case that laterals were in fact illegal and knees actually touched the ground.

Nevertheless, what's interesting is that Saturday's OU-Oregon snafu isn't even the most controversial play with which Riese has been associated! But, I digress ...

That OU's Allen Patrick actually recovered the "live ball" is beyond dispute. However, in college football, possession is not reviewable. Therefore, that is beyond the scope of discussion. I know, we hate it as Sooners fans because we know No. 23 recovered the ball. Nevertheless, it's irrelevant.

Even the phantom pass-interference call a couple plays later, in which video evidence suggested that OU's C.J. Ah You tipped the ball, is beyond discussion because the video only suggests that the ball was tipped at the line because its trajectory changed.

Unfortunately for us, a trajectory change does not equate to indisputable evidence. Remember, indisputable means it's a fact. You can take it to the bank just as you can that 2+2=4, although leave it to a PhD mathematician to actually be able to prove that disputable.

I feel good tonight about what's happened in the past two days because I know those of us who bleed crimson and cream not only have the world's best university president in terms of building academic programs and luring global scholars to Norman, but we also have a guy who'll go to bat for us when our football team gets screwed.

Why did he do it?

Boren said he wrote the letter to Weiberg in order to bring attention to the issue, in hopes of improving instant replay, not just for the benefit of OU but for the benefit of all intercollegiate athletics. The rules of fair play in my opinion coincide with Boren's actions on Monday in that while games are just games, fair play really is a concept that stands taller than first downs and blocked kicks.

While OU's players got a lesson the hard way that not everything in life is going to go their way, Boren demonstrated the highest level of leadership as an example to every player, every coach and every football fan in the country. Those at the very top have an obligation to stand up not only for what's right but also for the people who serve them and their communities.

Hell, I'm not even talking about the players.

I'm talking about us, the OU fans, financial supporters and alumni.

It won't change the outcome of the game nor will it sooth the sting all that much. However, it should cause every one of us who carries a piece of the University of Oklahoma with them in our daily lives to count ourselves lucky to have David Boren as the school's leader.