Quote:
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Originally Posted by psujaye
During warm-ups of my BV game last night, the R & I noticed a player wearing a protective brace on one of his hands. we called him over, looked at it, deemed it to be too hard (it had 2 separate metal rods for support in it) and restrictive and asked that he take it off and have his hand taped (if he wanted). he had no issue with it and neither did the coach.
Apparently his father was in the stands and he politely comes down and asks me about the brace. Here is a brief synopsis of the discussion (it appears long but it was literally 30-45 seconds):
Father: what's wrong with my son's brace?
Me: its too restrictive
Father: did they change the rule? I had (insert high level observer as a name drop) and (insert assignor's name as a name drop) look at it and they said it was fine.
Me: We'll my partner and I feel its too hard and restrictive.
Father: do you want me to go get the rule book?
Me: no, but i appreciate the offer. We need to worry about the other 9 players on the court also, not just your son.
Father: well i'm worried about his hand. he's played 18 games with it on, are you saying the other 36 officials were wrong?
Me: I don't know what the other 36 officials did. I know he can't play this game tonight with the brace on.
Father: what's your name?
Me: (silence)
father: you can't tell me your name?
Me: if you have an issue, you should call (insert previously name dropped assignor's name here) and tell him the officials on this game wouldn't let your son play with the hand brace on.
Father: (walks away)
Has this type of thing happened to anyone else during warm-ups? I initially wanted to ignore him completely, but he was polite (for the most part). You never know who is watching (from an observer/assignor standpoint) and i don't want to come off wrong by having a conversation with a parent. I honestly have no idea if i did the right or wrong thing by entertaining this guy. Part of me feels like i shoudve ignored him completely.
I'm open for suggestions.
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PSU:
You and your partner were correct in your evaluation that the brace was illegal because NFHS R3-S5-A2a states: "A guard, cast or brace made of hard and unyielding leather, plaster, pliable (soft) plastic, metal or any other hard substance may not be worn on the elbow, hand, finger, wrist or forearm; even though covered with soft padding." The word "restrictive" has no bearing as to whether the brace was legal or illegal.
Once you and your partner have determined that the brace is illegal, do not tell the player that he has to take it off. Inform him that his brace is illegal and that he cannot play while wearing. It is his decision as to whether he wants to play or not. If the players Head Coach comes to you for an explanation, tell him why the brace is illegal and that you are not requiring the player to remove it, just that the player cannot play while wearing it.
How to the handle the parent? I am a parent of two sons. My sons played basketball through the 8th grade and have been swimming and playing baseball since they were 7 years old. That means I take an interest in my sons’ safety on the playing field. Every parent is entitled to an explanation as to why his child’s equipment is not legal. But, not when you are performing your pre-game duties. When the player’s father approached you, you should have told him that you had discussed the situation with his son’s Head Coach and the Head Coach was satisfied with your explanation and that he, the player’s father, needs to leave the court and return to his seat. If the player’s father will not follow your instructions to leave the court, it is time to have game administration escort him to his seat.
MTD, Sr.