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Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
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Originally posted by SMEngmann
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Disagree. 
It's not our job to tell anybody how to coach their team. Our job is to just neutrally call what happens, without passing our personal moral judgement on anybody.
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I agree with you there, but there are times when minor irritants can flare up, and I think this is a chance to nip a possible incident in the bud. Both teams clearly don't want to play under the conditions that developed, so if neither coach wants to change the conditions, ballgame. No need to finish the game under such animousity, especially with the outcome already decided. [/B][/QUOTE]I think that the actual response made by one of the original refs was pretty much dead on. He just didn't really have a rule available to him that he can use, unless he wants to get into the "travesty of the game" thingy- so there's not much he could do. There's no rule prohibiting a team from pressing, and there also isn't a rule that says that you can't commit a deliberate turnover. You certainly can get the coaches together and tell them that you don't want them trash-talking each other, and you also can nail them real quick if they try to do so. Other than that, I think that your best course of action is just to make sure that you call what you have to, keep a lid on everything and get the game over asap. Then write it up, and let the league worry about it. It should be their problem, not your's, anyway. Jmo. [/B][/QUOTE]
Jurassic, I basically agree with you on most of the points, and obviously I wasn't there. As an official it's not my business how anyone wants to coach their team, but it is my business to manage the game. In this case a team has basically quit playing by giving up the ball to protest the other team's press, which, thus, prevents the other team from working on its presses. Nothing can be gained by either team in this situation, and the game could further degenerate easily with a hard foul here or there or a confrontation between the coaches. I'm not suggesting forfeiting the game, but rather conferring with the coaches and discussing shortening the length of the quarter as per Rule 5.5.3. At least doing so would address a situation which I feel shouldn't be ignored, but again jmo.