Worst think you've seen done to an official

[chapmaja]

This goes for all sports, even though I'm on the softball forum. What is the worst thing you have personally had done to you as an officials, or have personally witnessed being done to an official?

The reason I ask is the State of Michigan now has an idiot soccer player facing serious chargers have he punched a soccer referee who red carded (ejected) him. The referee has since died from the injuries.

I personally have never witnessed anything that serious happen. I had a softball player tell me he was going to see me in the parking lot after I ejected him from a game once, but that never happened (I was parked in a different lot).

I also had a part escort me and my partner to our cars yelling at us after a basketball game (MS 7th grade B level) once.

I guess I have been lucky to not have any serious crap happen to me or anyone near me while I officiated.

The only other stupid thing I saw was the flag football flying drop kick into a group of players. I was the referee and the team scored on a long pass play. Something happened and there was a crowd of players in the endzone. The QB takes off runs down and and takes off into a flying drop kick into the group of people (luckily the official there had already stepped back and was just watching the mess unfold). The best part was that the campus police were watching the game and he got dragged off the field in handcuffs for his little stunt (that and somehow nobody was seriously hurt by metal cleats flying through the air).

[chuck chopper]

Got spit on once, and ice thrown at me..

[RKBUmp]

Daughter got followed into parking lot by a crazy mom. That's why she will never set foot on a field again as an umpire. Saw the parents of a team throw cokes on the umpires and yell obscenities at them as they were leaving the field. Team had already been eliminated but TD told them to leave grounds immediately and to never enter another of his tournaments.

[Stat-Man]

I actually knew the soccer official in question as we attended the same college and he was a student worker at the field house for a number of years while I was there.

To answer the question, here is something I observed several years ago, before I officiated.

At a pro-am summer [basketball] league, a player took offense to the fouls called on him during the game and grabbed one of the officials by the collar and slammed him up against a support column. Fearing for my own safety, I hid under the scorer's table until things settled down.

I'm not sure if it was a punishment from the league director, but I never saw the offending player play in another game again for the rest of the summer.

The sad part is the guy scored 50+ points in the game, but I remember his meltdown more than his offensive accomplishments that day.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by chapmaja

This goes for all sports, even though I'm on the softball forum. What is the worst thing you have personally had done to you as an officials, or have personally witnessed being done to an official?

The reason I ask is the State of Michigan now has an idiot soccer player facing serious chargers have he punched a soccer referee who red carded (ejected) him. The referee has since died from the injuries.

I personally have never witnessed anything that serious happen. I had a softball player tell me he was going to see me in the parking lot after I ejected him from a game once, but that never happened (I was parked in a different lot).

I also had a part escort me and my partner to our cars yelling at us after a basketball game (MS 7th grade B level) once.

I guess I have been lucky to not have any serious crap happen to me or anyone near me while I officiated.

The only other stupid thing I saw was the flag football flying drop kick into a group of players. I was the referee and the team scored on a long pass play. Something happened and there was a crowd of players in the endzone. The QB takes off runs down and and takes off into a flying drop kick into the group of people (luckily the official there had already stepped back and was just watching the mess unfold). The best part was that the campus police were watching the game and he got dragged off the field in handcuffs for his little stunt (that and somehow nobody was seriously hurt by metal cleats flying through the air).

And that is why you dial 9-1-1
Say this to spectators and they think you are a ****ing idiot making a big deal over a game. Assault is assault, period.

And if there is a special law specific to sports official, remind the arresting officer of it and whatever you do, sign/endorse the damn complaint. DO NOT be the nice guy and think giving these people a break is warranted. And I don't care if they have money or are homeless, normally "nice" people or the nastiest shits on the face of the earth, have them arrested.

[BretMan]

In my 15 years of umpiring baseball and softball I've racked up about 1200 games. There have been about five times where an angry parent or coach decided to give me a piece of their mind while I was in the parking lot or undressing at my car.

I guess that's not a bad overall ratio. Then again, I dont work slow pitch . Nothing I couldn't handle, just the usual "you're the worst umpire ever, you robbed the kids, I'm reporting you to the state association" stuff. But with some of the whack jobs out there you never know.

The only time a coach actually made physical contact with me it was more laughable than threatening.

There was a play at the plate where the runner and catcher got tangled up. The catcher got the worst of it. But she was standing right on top of the plate waiting for the throw and the runner did try to avoid her.

An assistant coach for the defense made an immediate full sprint beeline from the dugout toward me at the plate, screaming, "That's BS! That's BS!". I gave a big overhand roundhouse ejection signal before he got halfway to me.

The guy's ranting like a madman and decides that he's going to chest bump me. The only problem was that he was about four inches shorter than me, I had about 50 pounds on him and I'm wearing a Wilson Platinum chest protector.

The guy had to jump up just to be chest-to-chest with me. I'm standing my ground, and this guy's jumping in the air, hitting that Platinum and bouncing off of it like a rubber ball. I never budged and he bounces off of me about four or five times. The harder he tries hitting me the farther he flies backwards!

[BretMan]

Forgot about this one...

High school baseball game with two inner city schools pretty low on baseball experience. I call a third strike on a kid on an outside corner pitch. The kid turns around and starts arguing the call.

I said, "Batter, you need to go to your dugout". The kid keeps mouthing off, then draws a line in the dirt where he thinks the pitch was.

I must have been in a charitable mood that day. This is pretty much an automatic ejection any other day. But it was obvious that these kids didn't understand a lot about the game and I'm thinking he just doesn't know any better. Once more I say, "You need to get in your dugout NOW".

The kid gets this crazed look in his eyes, literally GROWLS, then draws his bat back like he's going to take a swing at me!

I eject him. He starts stomping around the field, screaming and cussing. Then he goes to the dugout, rips off his jersey, throws it out on the field and starts tossing around bats and helmets!

The kid is shirtless and starts coming back on the field. Several teammates grab him and are struggling to hold him back.

It was like the kid just snapped and was totally out of control. And all the while, his clueless coach is in the third base coaches box, standing there watching, doing nothing.

I look to his coach and say, "You need to do something with this kid RIGHT NOW!". The coach wanders over to the dugout and drags the kid to the gate and sends him to the bus, by himself, while the kid rants, raves and cusses all the way to the parking lot.

After my ejection report was filed, come to find out that the kid's AD tried to get a lenient suspension because the kid had "behavioral issues".

No $hit!

[teebob21]

2000 ASA Class C 18U Nebraska state tournament in a podunk town two hours from Nowhereville; consolation bracket final. Winner plays in the championship game.

Home Team A quickly gives up a solid lead, and appears to be coasting to a lazy run-rule loss on a hot summer afternoon. They have limited pitching, they can't field, they can't throw, and they're utterly baffled by the curveball that Team B's pitcher is spotting on the outside corner.

Fast forward to the fourth inning. I think it was 4-0 at this point. Team B has basically stopped swinging at hittable pitches and are looking for home run balls. They're striking out looking left and right.

In the bottom of the 4th, Team A's B1 hits a come-backer that whacks Team B's pitcher in the thigh. Looked like it hurt like hell. She shakes it off, throws a few trial pitches and says she is good to go. She walks the next two batters and loads the bases. She's clearly shaken after getting drilled.

Head coach goes out to talk to the pitcher, who as it turned out, was also his daughter. On the way back to the 3B dugout, PU tells the coach "first conference". Coach responds with "You gotta call those strikes both ways, man. You can't change your zone just to make this game interesting because we're winning." PU says, "That's enough; we're not going to argue balls and strikes today." End of conversation.

Problem was, after getting hit, the curveball wasn't working. It was staying a good 6 to 8 inches off the plate. Pitcher doesn't adjust, walks in a couple runs and makes it 4-2. By this point, Team B parents are going nuts about balls and strikes (like they do).

Top of fifth inning: Team A remembered how to use their gloves and is playing decent ball for a 18U C team. Team B has their at-bat end with a play at the plate that they disagree with. Throw comes in late, but the runner is hook sliding around the plate and never touches it; gets tagged out. Fans lose their minds.

Bottom of sixth inning: Team B's pitcher is still out there walking batters with outside pitches, and is nearly in tears about it. Coach comes out (rather politely considering the surroundings) to question balls and strikes after back-to-back walks. Crowd is pretty riled up and a few empty plastic bottles start coming over the fence. PU warns the coach about getting tossed for arguing the zone, and the crowd goes NUTS. Things like "OOOH, big man! You tell 'em!" come from the parents. PU tells the coach to get the crowd under control or the bleachers will be cleared before the game continues. Coach does so, reasonably well. Team A pushes in a run on a single to the outfield: 4-3 score.

Bottom of seventh inning: With one out, Team B pitcher still can't find strikes. She is pushed almost to tears again with every pitch not called a strike. She beans two batters and walks the next to load the bases. Like the pitcher, Team B parents think every one of those pitches was a strike. With one out, the batter hits an easy double play ball to F6 who inexplicably throws home when no one is expecting it. The throw is high, and the catcher jumps to make the catch; foot clearly off the plate. Runner scores before catcher comes down on the plate; PU signals safe. Tie game; 4-4.

Pandemonium erupts in the stands. A portable cooler comes over the fence from Team B. Team B's pitcher is crying in the circle. The chainlink fence is getting a workout, and Team B's fans' vocabulary has been reduced to various forms of the word "bullshit". The coach comes out of the dugout, but before he gets anywhere, base umpire instructs him to calm the crowd again or the game is over. A couple minutes and a mound visit later, things are approaching relative sanity. Pitcher is still crying and clearly upset but is left in the game.

Next pitch: Passed ball, terrible pitch. R1 at 3B starts to come home but sees the ball bounce sharply off the backstop directly to the catcher. R1 retreats to 3B, is dead-to-rights, and the thrown ball hits her in the back of the helmet and caroms into left field. She gets up, and scores before another play can be made. Game over.

At this point, Team B and their entire family tree absolutely loses their shit. PU was bumped into by the retreating batter during the final play and he dropped his mask. In the time it took to turn and pick it up, the P, C, 1B, and LF have cornered him near the plate. P says "You f***ing suck!" "You robbed us!" etc., and pushes the PU with both hands. One of the players punches the PU in the ribs. This is basically happening simultaneously. Meanwhile, PU sees head coaches from both teams coming in, fast. Team A head coach leads the base umpire off the field, but Team B head coach is still coming. Not knowing the head coach's intent, PU points at the four players and Team B head coach and loudly ejects them all from the grounds for the remainder of the tournament (not realizing they'd already been eliminated from play). Coach just nods and wrangles his wild players.

The grounds crew, armed with rakes, swarms in and escorts PU from the field to the grounds shed, like a Roman turtle formation. Unfortunately they took the wrong dugout exit and led the PU directly behind Team B's bleachers. Prim and proper old ladies in Team B T-shirts were yelling things like "Hey dumbshit, which one of those girls are YOU f***ing?!?" Snacks and drinks rained down, but thankfully, no more coolers.

It was madness. Some of the parents were so pissed that they had choice words for the umpires that weren't even on the field for that game, and for the UIC and tournament director. Those parents made asses of themselves even as their 17-18 year old daughters (Team B players) pleaded for them to stop and just go to the parking lot. The sheriff was called, but by the time he arrived, the worst was over and the players had left.

It was the most ridiculous game I have ever seen. Remember, this is 18U Class C State, not the World Series or anything. They weren't even going to advance to Regionals.

I was the plate umpire. I was 17 years old. Those were my first 5 ejections.

[CecilOne]

Originally Posted by BretMan

sends him to the bus, by himself,

????????????????????????????

[CecilOne]

I could write a list , but typing it would take all day , so I can't.

[BretMan]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

(By himself)????????????????????????????

Well, there was a bus driver on the bus, so I guess that he had adult supervision- once he got there. The coach sent the kid off through the parking lot unescorted, and he screamed profanities all the way from the field to the bus.

[MD Longhorn]

We had a football official arrested once by a pissed off board member who was also a cop. Cop lost his job eventually, but the official never came back.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

We had a football official arrested once by a pissed off board member who was also a cop. Cop lost his job eventually, but the official never came back.

I remember you (or someone) telling that story over on the football forum shortly after it happened. Good to know the cop lost his job.

[Reffing Rev.]

A Football story but...

My second year as an official I was WH for a JV game. Close game... Home team scores with about 1:20 left and they go for 2 to tie but fail so they onside kick.

The ball bounces off of a K player at K's 48 and then is recovered by K at R's 45. SInce there was first touching by K, R gets the ball and runs out the clock. Home team fans are screaming their head off that it should be a rekick because of the "penalty" for touching the ball before it went 10 yards.

This was a JV game at a rural consolidated high school in Illinois, we've got no dressing room and we're parked somewhere in the midst of the parking lot. We jog off the field and are on the way to our car and this guy is with us from the gate on yelling at us about the onside kick. The guy who was LJ is trying to reason with him...we get to the car and the LJ (who is an idiot) says he'll show the dad the rule book. The dad who just happens to be parked next to us, reaches over the side of his pick-up and says, "I'll show you something" and picks up a rifle.

I got in the car and said, "{LJ's name} shut-up and get in the car"...we were rolling before his door even closed.

[UmpireErnie]

Originally Posted by Reffing Rev.

A Football story but...

My second year as an official I was WH for a JV game. Close game... Home team scores with about 1:20 left and they go for 2 to tie but fail so they onside kick.

The ball bounces off of a K player at K's 48 and then is recovered by K at R's 45. SInce there was first touching by K, R gets the ball and runs out the clock. Home team fans are screaming their head off that it should be a rekick because of the "penalty" for touching the ball before it went 10 yards.

This was a JV game at a rural consolidated high school in Illinois, we've got no dressing room and we're parked somewhere in the midst of the parking lot. We jog off the field and are on the way to our car and this guy is with us from the gate on yelling at us about the onside kick. The guy who was LJ is trying to reason with him...we get to the car and the LJ (who is an idiot) says he'll show the dad the rule book. The dad who just happens to be parked next to us, reaches over the side of his pick-up and says, "I'll show you something" and picks up a rifle.

I got in the car and said, "{LJ's name} shut-up and get in the car"...we were rolling before his door even closed.

After going a safe distance I hope you called police. Pulling a gun is assault. There should be zero tolerance for something like that.