Quote:
Originally posted by Oz Referee
One thing I have noticed since contributing to this board is that American Referees (generally) are far stricter on language than the referees I officiate with. And to be honest, what I know of American society in general - I think this would probably be reflected by society as a whole (ie Aussie's swear more than Yanks).
On the basketball court, most referee's I know will put up with profanity (even the F word) if it used under certain circumstances - for example if a player is injured and in pain, or if it is used to express disgust at oneself for making a mistake. In these cases the referees that I ref with will either ignore it, or say something along the lines of "watch the language". Also, any player or coach yelling Jesus Christ, goddamn or any other religous/cultural "profanity" would almost definitely escape unscathed.
I'm not trying to say Australia is better - simply highlighting a difference. It would be interesting to see how American referees would handle refereeing "down under" and vice-versa.....
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Do not lump all of us together. Some of us come from areas that it might not be acceptable to use certain language, but we are not goin to overract to it either. Some of us hear these very things that you talk about, but instead of immediate action with a T, we talk to them and warn them. That usually works and then we move on. I know when I do urban area games, I would not survive if I gave Ts for everytime I heard something like "Jesus Christ" and punished it. Even in the suburbs, I would have major problems if I did the same too. At the highest levels, you better know how to handle those situation through managing the game rather than penalizing every action with Technical Fouls.
America is a vast area and each of us have different standard and values. Where I currently live you cannot buy alcoholic beverages and most businesses have to close their doors by 12:00AM by law. This place I live also has the highest churches per capita in the world. Go outside that area, you will find strip clubs all over. America is just too big for all of us to have the same expectations, in basketball or anything else.
Peace