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Originally Posted by cpa
Well, this is gonna be my last word on this -- but my wife is a school teacher and I am a parent w/ 3 kids who have all played ball growing up. I believe I have a pretty good feel for what parents and administration expect out of me when it comes to dealing with over-the-top fans.
I can tell you that in my umpiring experience that in many cases the umpire is THE authority figure at the park, unless it is a tournament, school or college setting. The lower the level of ball, the more likely it will be that "you're on your own"
Part of the problem w/ society today is that teachers and other authority figures tolerate way more than they should because of legal fears, lack of administrative support, eroding standards, etc.
So what if the kids have heard cussing before -- I can tell you where I live people expect those in authority to rein in and to curb such behavior. I,m not talking about rabbit ears umpires -- I'm talking about idiots who don't know how to act around kids, or in a church league setting, etc. The people that I work for, that my association works for, absolutely expect that sort of behavior to be dealt with.
I am not looking for it, I am not listening for it or seeking it out in any way -- but I can forcefully deal with it in a polite, most of the time discreet way when it happens -- by myself if practical, but by engaging administration if need be
I am not a prude, not particularly religious either -- just a guy w/ enough common sense to not hide behind a rule book that doesn't happen to have an explicit rule covering fart boxes or people screaming "horsesh.t" at 12 year old kids
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Rubbish. You hit the key words, parents and administrators.
Behavioral issues off the field are their responsibility, not the umpire's. When you show up to officiate ANY sporting event, you are there for a specific reason and, as mentioned earlier, not to babysit.
I really don't care how you run your life and raise your kids, that is not only your business, but responsibility. The same as it is for every other family out there. You may have a wonderful sets of standards set for your children and if you are successful with getting your children to understand and accepting them, great job. However, that doesn't mean you get to determine how others live.
If you take offense to how things are going, stop the game and tell the coaches to deal with it, but do not use the rule book as your authority, it isn't. For as much as there is nothing in the rule book giving you the authority outside the fence, there is also nothing which requires you to continue a game under unacceptable conditions. Again, let the people whom are responsible for those in question handle it. And, if they refuse, those people you can get rid of.