Quote:
Originally Posted by ilyazhito
Mine was also a safety-related issue requiring the game to not be played
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You are overvaluing the safety factor of officials. Kids have been safely playing basketball on playgrounds and in gyms with no officials for a hundred years. Games with three officials are probably a little safer than games with two officials. Games with two officials are probably a little safer than games with one official. Games with one official are safer than games with no official. Associations/states have come up with somewhat arbitrary numbers that will allow for games to be played safely. For some areas it's one official. For others it may be two officials. Heck, some states have one person mechanic guidelines in place.
I find it odd that a state that won't allow a game to start with only one official will allow it to continue with one official if the other gets hurt. Are they, or aren't they, admitting that the game can be safely, or not safely, played with one official? Is this a lawsuit waiting to happen if the game is allowed to continue with just one official? There must be reasons in addition to safety why such states would allow such?
It's unsafe to play the first minute with less than two officials, but it's safe to play the remaining thirty-one minutes with just one official? If it was mostly about safety, these states wouldn't allow such to occur.
Are the powers that be in Wisconsin (thirty-one minutes with one) more concerned about player safety than the powers to be in Connecticut (thirty-two minutes with one)?
Do states think that middle school kids can be safe with one, but not varsity high school kids?
The worst injury I ever saw in a basketball game was a compound arm fracture. Middle school game. Blood all over the place. Four officials in that game would not have prevented that injury.
Second worst injury I ever saw in a basketball game was a dislocated elbow. Girls varsity game. I can still hear her screams thirty years later. Four officials in that game would not have prevented that injury.
Or, does the number of officials have more to do with the validity and impact of the game's outcome (in addition to safety)?
In my opinion (and in the opinion of many states) one very high quality official can safely keep control of a varsity game.
I won't say the same thing about the validity and impact of the game's outcome.