Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrapper1
Sorry, rocky, I read your post yesterday and forgot to respond. The honest answer is that I don't know. I'm hoping that a couple seasons will go by and everyone will see that it's being done sporadically, at best; and that it's not really accomplishing what they thought it would. They'll blame the officials, of course, but maybe it will be enough that either they'll drop it, or it will just die out.
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Or perhaps all the kids and parents will get used to having the officials around following the game and learn that they aren't to say anything negative during this time. Maybe the players and coaches will even start to come over and shake hands with the officials. And just maybe this exercise will end up having a positive effect on sportsmanship during HS athletic contests in the state.
For the record, my opinion is that if the MIAA wants this experiment to work, and I have to believe that the goal is to have an environment of greater sportsmanship for the games, then they must correct two serious errors made by the drafters of the policy. Namely, the officials must have penalty jurisdiction during the entire time that they are on the court, including the PGHS, and the officials must be participants and not just observers in the PGHS. Otherwise, the structure still makes them outsiders while everyone else is saying nice things to each other and shaking hands, and the kids, coaches, and parents will continue to see them as such. As long as that is the case, then the entire mission is certain to fail.