Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffpea
ok....so you don't like my hypothetical...instead of hitting himself with the ball, what if he slapped himself in the face/head area? if striking someone in a combative manner is deemed to be a flagrant foul/flagrant technical, should you call that when a player does it to himself?
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You were right several posts ago when you stated:
1. the issue is whether the display is directed at the player himself or toward the calling (or non-calling) official, and
2. that #1 is a judgment call.
And IMO you should have stopped there. The problem with the rest of what you've said is that it's often unclear what a player is doing by spiking the ball, etc. You seem to want to give the benefit of this doubt to the player. I disagree.
I think it's unsporting to act in such a way that a neutral observer can't tell what you're expressing. Errors are part of any game, and good sports shrug and try harder next time.
So I choose not to extend the benefit of the doubt to players in that way. IMO overt displays of frustration are not part of the game: I'll warn and then whack (and, if it's obvious to me that the display is about me and not the error, I'll skip the warning).