[blindzebra]

Originally posted by rainmaker

BZ -- This is something a lot of women deal with too, especially in boys ball, so I've felt it from the end of the person representing the traditionally oppressed group. I couldn't possibly have made that call from a position of competence and ability. It's not the same for men in girls ball, because they've been reffing all along and are reaching out from a position of traditional power and authority.

In the same way, a white ref in a black situation may feel some racial animosity directed at them, but it's nothing like what a black ref feels when race is an issue. I think you and I, as whites stepping into a black situation, feel like it cuts both ways. It is most assuredly not the same. I'm not saying you are a racist. You're not. And it's not okay for a black kid to assume you are. But that doesn't mean that you're being treated the same as Jeff gets treated when he's the black ref in a game between a white team and a black team. It's just not the same.

Juulie, I'm aware that I have not lived every aspect of my life where race may be an issue.

This debate has a racial aspect, but the main issue is are we supporting are partner by setting this player straight?

If I'm the white guy, I can't just wait and call some close ones on them and sit them down, to make a point that what they said was wrong.

As a woman, which way do you handle the "she's just a woman ref" issue? Do you do nothing to set them straight when the comment is made, only to call some boarderline fouls on them hoping to make your point, or do you take care of business?

To put it into context for the first post, how do you want your partner to handle it?

For me it's simple, we are a team. I'd have Rut's back, I'd have your back, I'd even have JR's back.