quote:
Originally posted by KDM on 01-21-2000 12:40 PM
Todd,
I hear you. But diplomacy doesn't always work. This guy came in and assaulted one of the officials. What if the official received a broken bone or severe cut rather than a 'nice bruise' on his backside? You would have to draw a line somewhere ....
Yup, it IS a tough call as to how best to deal with it. As the "push" was described, it was in reaction to what the coach considered touching him and resulted in a relatively minor injury. Totally unacceptable, but in terms of deflating the situation the victimized official still had a better chance of avoiding further physical injury by walking away and dealing with it through channels. If the coach would not leave it at that and comes toward you again, absolutely you have to defend yourself however you can--but the key word there is "defend" as opposed to retaliate. And, of course, only the people who are actually in the situation as it is occurring can really judge whether physical defense is necessary and what level of action. But I still think walking away is the better first choice IF it is feasible. And while credibility is absolutely secondary and not exactly on your mind at the time, how you handle such a situation will, nonetheless, have an impact since it demonstrates how you handle a highly pressured situation and how your decision-making is affected. Thank goodness most officials never have to experience this type and degree of incident.