Quote:
Originally Posted by sj
Would an official have any potential legal liability if he allows a player to remain in the game in spite of that player having reached 5 fouls? For example after she should have been out of the game she then fouls an opponent hard and the opponent would get hurt.
Here's a long story as short as I can make it. 9th grade girls team only has 5 players. One girl is very big with no playing sense at all. She'll foul a shooter by just bringing her arms down on top of the shooter and as a result will just knock the shooter silly. Talking to her does no good. I called what I thought was the 5th foul on her but the scorer said 4. So I thought maybe I could be wrong. When I called the next one the scorer still told me 4. I knew I was right so I made her leave. (I didn't know but the coach and the scorer had agreed to try to keep her in the game.)
Later I told the coach if we kept her in after getting 5 fouls and she knocked someone down and go their head cracked open then there could be legal issues involved. (This girl would be perfectly capable of it too) I try to be a common sense guy but am I right here or am I worrying too much? Thanks.
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No, you're not worrying too much. Good job on sending the girl off after you knew it was her 5th. And good job on telling the coach exactly how it is.
And yes, shame on the coach and scorer for contravening the purpose of ethics.
I feel for the scorekeeper if s/he is a young person. They could have had their judgment questioned by a position of authority.