[JRutledge]

You can go on and on about what you have thought I have said in the past. The fact still remains, that I and many other officials have the right to our opinions about what we like to do. I do not have to like the same ice cream because YOU think it is the bomb. I do not have to where the same cloths because you think one type is more classy than another brand.

We all have choices and have opinions. And if you think what I said was "anti-girl," then again you have a right to your opinion. I personally do not care what you think. And the more you move up, the more you will have to choose, because the powers that be think enough of both to think that both games are completely different. You do not see Ed Hightower, Ted Hillary or Teddy Valentine doing Women's NCAA do you? Just like you do not see Patty Brodrick or the many male officials that do Women's NCAA doing both either. There is a reason, and I am sorry that you feel that anyone that chooses to make a comment against something, it has to be viewed in a larger context. I do not like umpiring softball compared to umpiring baseball, so are you going to give me a lecture about the gender issues surrounding that (BTW, I have done Men's Fast-Pitch Softball and I do not like that either)?

The Men's and boy's game is faster, more athletic and more intense. Because the reality is that women do not jump, run or are not as quick as boy's. When was the last time you saw a girl dunk in a real game, and it was not on TV (a Tennessee Player did that last year)? Now are the girls probably more fundamental on many levels, yes. But that still does not change the fact for me and many others like myself enjoy the game above the rim or as close to it as possible. I like the fact that just because the boys falls hard to the floor, no one is thinking, "oh you poor little fragile thing" everytime a boy hits the floor. People in this society are used to boys and men having contact in not just basketball, so the fans take all these sterotypes to the basketball court and expect you as an official to protect that clumbsy girl that tried to dribble thru 4 defenders stand still. If a boy does that, they tell him, "why are you taking on the team."

I am so sick and tired of officiating games with girls and a girl gets knocked down in some way, whether it be by a defender or not and start crying uncontrollably, but two seconds after she is helped off the court, she comes back in the game. You would have thought the sky just fell. But in a boy's game the same contact will happen, he will fall to the floor just as hard if not harder, and try to get himself up and still play. You have to almost force the boy to not play, while the girls you do not.

This statement is not so much about girls, but the way our society views women and the way women view themselves. And if that was not the case, then that is way I love having women coaches during girls games. At least they feel like they want to be there.

Everything I just said just scratches the surface about what I feel and many others feel about girls basketball. But the reality is that I will still be doing them to some extent, but I sure as hell will not be knocking down doors to do them. And I know that I am not the only one that feels this way. The thing is I said it and others did not have the guts to say it.

Maybe if I grew up watching girls basketball the way I watched or played basketball, I would probably have a different attitude. But when I have called 25 fouls in the first half of a girls basketball game, and both coaches are still crying about us calling more, girls basketball has a major problem with the way they precieve girls playing. I have never had that many fouls where at some point the coaches did not turn some of that attention on the players on the floor or adjust something to stop getting fouls called. And I am not talking about the touch foul variety, I am talking about the knocked completely to the floor type of fouls and the coaches complaining we still need to call much more.

If administrations cannot not hire coaches that are competent enough for girls basketball to realize what is really happening on the floor, then my behind needs to stay away from it. And that is because the most incompetent coaches are almost always on the girls side. And the reasons are because they do not hire coaches that have been around or paid their dues the way they do on the boy's side. Not very different from the officials that do the games too. And yes this included myself that did almost 60 girls varsity games in my SECOND year of basketball. And what made that so bad was that I was doing varsity girls games with other SECOND and THREE year officials. And when I did my first varsity boys games, I was always working with 5 or more year veterans. Now you tell me who cares about who the most and why it translates onto the court?


Peace