Quote:
Originally posted by GarthB
Putting image first can easily mean different things to different officials. Some I know want to have the image of an official who is open to go to his partner any time asked and be known as an offical who is ready to change his call.
While others I know truly understand that that is not what officials are about. They know they have to work hard to minimize the necessity of getting help. They know that once they start getting help just because they were asked, they have opened a door that will never close. Coaches remember these things and will come out questioning every close call. "You got help last inning!"
Sometimes you have to say no.
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I feel you are mistating an opposing position in order to attempt to better support your position.
Garth, I don't think anyone has advocated to get help "just because they were asked."
Would you cite where anyone has advocated what you just stated?
In fact, it's been stated not to get help merely to appease a complaining coach. Yet, as officials we know we are sometimes
forced to rule on plays where we know we don't have all the information we would like to have---for whatever reason. What has been advocated is to seek help if you, in such situations, feel help is necessary to get the call right (or merely to confirm your call)
AND your partner was in position to legitimately provide such added information. We are frequently made aware of such obviously blown calls when the coach vehemently complains about the decision. Without the complaint, we have the confidence we got the call right despite our known doubt regarding the added information.
I also agree with you that officials need to "work hard to minimize the necessity of getting help." Still, you seem to acknowlege by using "minimize" that there are, indeed, times when
you realize you may need that help. That would seem to agree with the authorities---and with me. However, I felt you were advocating never to seek that help---even when you have serious doubt about a call you were forced to make while lacking all the needed information. That, Garth, is not in agreement with the authorities.
The attitude toward not seeking help when necessary is exactly what OBR, NCAA, PBUC, and Fed have addressed.
They have stressed that in instances of decisions where you are forced to make a call, yet you know you are in doubt because you are lacking the certainty of needed information to make that call, that you be willing to seek that help to get the call right---despite how you feel it may effect your image.The authorities support getting the call right as being more important than protecting the perceived image of the official. Still, some officials choose to ignore the writings, direction, and examples provided by these sources and instead attempt to protect their perceived dignity by maintaining an obviously blown call.
While you again address the
fear of coaches asking for frivolous appeals, I feel confident you would agree that competent officials can quickly squelch such frivolous appeals. Do you feel the authoritative sources providing us our direction in these situations were unaware of that potential of frivolous appeals thereafter? Do you feel you are adding fact that the sources were unaware of? Are you that much more insightful than the authoritative sources? Perhaps so, but I would think they would have recognized that fact and taken it into consideration when deciding upon their directions to follow.
An official seeking help when
HE feels it's necessary does not necessarily mean he is an incompetent official. To the contrary, an official adhering to an obviously blown call is more likely to viewed as an incompetent official than one willing to make the needed correction to assure in his confidence that he's made the correct call.
There is no support for maintaining this protection of the perceived dignity except for the opinion of some officials.
This is a fact that some continue to ignore..........
IMO, that is an arrogance associated with past imaging of officials, and which today is viewed upon poorly by coaches as protecting your own being moreso than caring for the game-----
their game, not yours. It also displays an arrogance by ignoring the direction of the authoritative sources. Calls are changed at all levels---even MLB. It is proven in the writings of the authorities and in actual practice that it is preferred to get the call right at the cost of
perceived dignity when an obviously blown call occurs.
Their is no dignity in maintaining an obviously blown call.
Freix
[Edited by Bfair on Jul 22nd, 2003 at 02:44 PM]