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I worked an Under-17 AAU game this weekend with a fellow college official. One team was clearly better than the other. The better team had two very tall kids, and the losing team was not skilled enough to play any kind of effective defense and ended up fouling the big kids the whole game. Understandably, the big kids on the winning team started taking umbrage to some of the treatment they were receiving. It was getting a little heated.
Both teams were in the "double bonus" in the first half. And in the last couple of minutes of the first half, my partner called a double foul in the post. As soon as the horn sounded to end the half, I went to him and said "I don't know what you had on that double foul, but I love the call". I thought it sent a good signal that we were not going to allow the crap to continue.
About a minute before the second half was to start, he comes to me and says, "Let's not call the bulls*** fouls this half, ok?" I laughed b/c I thought he was kidding. He says, "I'm serious. Nothing we're going to do is going to make this game better, so let's call less [sic] fouls".
I couldn't believe it, to be honest. If we'd laid off the whistles in that second half, there would've been a fight, no question in my mind. I am still kind of stunned that he thought we should treat that particular game that way. But I called what needed to be called and just got through it. I think he just had other things on his mind.
Chuck
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