I'm no fan of protest fees.
Filing a protest is a right afforded to the teams under the playing rules. A protest serves a purpose- righting a wrong against an offended team that shouldn't have happened in the first place if the umpire knew the correct rule.
It just kind of rubs me the wrong way that a team should have to
pay extra to get the service they've already paid for and are entitled to.
The argument is always made that charging a fee helps to eliminate invalid, frivilous or unfounded protests. But if the protest is not valid, wouldn't it be summarily dismissed? In that case, there is no need to reschedule the game from the point of the protest and no need to schedule umpires to cover the resumed game, thus no cost involved for the league or tournament in securing fields or paying umpires.
So why charge for it? It doesn't cost you anything if it's dismissed and if it's upheld you return the money anyway.
If the protest is frivilous, the coach filing it will learn a lesson. And, if it is not, the umpire who misapplied the rule will learn something, too! This strikes me as a "win/win" proposition. Why not just follow the protest procedure as outlined in the rule book, which makes no mention of charging a "protest fee"?
Or else, maybe would could take this a step further. Want to appeal that checked swing? It'll cost ya five bucks! Can I check with my partner? It'll cost ya a ten spot!
