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First, if you believe that everyone who passes their 100 questions "yes and no" rules exam should be able to become a referee, that is your own opinion, as I was stating mine. Although I have the fortune of working with great crews, I give even more credit to those who do it for far less monetary compensation and far too much parent officiating. Having said that I still stand by my statement that not all people who want to referee should.
First thing I was taught back in my provisional years was to manage the game. If you did all you can to protect the players by using all the tools at your disposal such as, technical's/ejection/"tightening" the calls/warning coaches of calling the game, than you are right, you have done all you can! But when you do not utilize these tools and have coaches cursing at the top of their lungs during the game, I question if these referee's performed their jobs. I am all for OJT, but in this crazy world of AAU basketball and competitive college recruiting which we are mere victims of, we need to be aware of how to control games. After all seeing the news and various events unfold in basketball, we should acknowledge that our roles as officials are changing to encompass much more than mere 'advantage / disadvantage' calls.
As for suggestions of my 'fishing' for a lawsuit, I can only say that if I wanted to sue, it would have already been done. I have written a letter to send to the referee's board of executives along with a phone call to the assigner, but I wanted to see what everyone thought would be the appropriate measure.
Finally, on the more legal realm, all boards have insurance policies which protect you from lawsuits, and if you are unaware of your legal rights, pick up "Sports officiating:A Legal Guide" Myself and many of my colleagues have read this book, particularly in this age of camera's and televised games.
In addition if you are curious there is case law that pertains to 'negligence' of referee's which fall in favor of most referee's:
Kennel vs. Carson City School District (1990): High school basketball player attacked by opponent sued school district alleging that referees negligently failed to protect player. School district not liable for referees’ conduct. (Guess who was sued after this suit!)
However, the referee was sued. In case you haven't guessed, yes I am a lawyer, but not a litigator, so I'm more on the bean-counting aka corporate side. Having said that, I am very fortunate that my niece was not involved, she rides the bench, but parents have been asking me what they should do and my line has been to talk to the board and forgo the legal procedure of suing for 'Negligence.'
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