[Sleeper]

Old Ref,

I appreciate your frustration and share your sentiment about Mr. Graham. I wonder what the price per pound is for selling your spine. I hope he made a premium.

That being said, I would implore you to rethink your blackball decision. By doing so, you are sinking to his level and I would hope that you are not that kind of person. Officials should be chosen for assignments based on their skill, experience and the needs of the kids. I don't agree with what he did; frankly, it makes me ill. Blackballing smacks of politics and labor unions. The associations I have been exposed to have too much politics as it is, with qualified officials receiving sub-par games because they haven't made the right people happy. In addition, we aren't a union, we are independent contractors. By blackballing, we begin acting as an employer, which opens up another can of worms.

Mr. Graham should be assigned games according to his skills and qualifications. While this is hard for me to write, I still believe it is the right thing to do. If a coach wants to scratch him, that's another matter.