WNBA Follies ...

BillyMac

Three, top notch, professional, basketball, officials, and nobody saw the ball not go in?

I shouldn't be too hard on these guys. A few years ago, in two person game, as the trail, I had a foul from behind against a player in the act of shooting, in the lane. My partner, the lead, also had a whistle a split second after mine, and the foul resulted in crash, and a lot of bodies lying in the lane area. In the time it took me to figure out who was going to report the foul, (my partner), and if anybody was seriously hurt on the floor (they were not), I failed to observe if the ball went in the hoop, as did my partner. We had to ask the crew at the table if the ball went in (it did).

Rich

As an official, this doesn't surprise me a bit. Usually we have something more important to watch than the ball.

BillyMac

Rich wrote
Usually we have something more important to watch than the ball.

Let's not overstate this, and confuse rookie officials. We do have to watch for basket interference, goaltending, the ball going out of bounds, and whether, or not, the ball goes in the basket. Watching the ball may not be, better yet, is not, the most important thing that we look for, but it should be somewhere on the list, even if it's on the bottom of the list. In my embarrassing example above, I had two higher priorities than watching the ball, but at least we knew that nobody saw the ball go in the basket, or not go in the basket, so we sought help (the table) to get it right.

[deleted]

I know the WNBA has been experimenting with ways to make their game more exciting but I think this is going a little overboard. 😀

JRutledge

We must keep in mind that a partner told the calling official that the ball went in the basket. I put this mostly on one person on the crew more than anyone.

Peace

Nevadaref

JRutledge wrote
We must keep in mind that a partner told the calling official that the ball went in the basket. I put this mostly on one person on the crew more than anyone.

He did stop and ask the T before counting the goal.
The Trail is official #26.

crosscountry55

Nevadaref wrote
He did stop and ask the T before counting the goal.
The Trail is official #26.

Yup. T provided information, which leaves him solely responsible for the error. He will probably face a significant fine, or maybe even a brief suspension. Not sure why/if he thought he was sure. If he wasn't, all he had to do was say, "Dude, I'm not sure; let's check the monitor."

Unfortunate situation. But a teachable moment for all sides. For the officials, it's don't be in a rush, and if you're not sure, say so. For the Atlanta coaches, especially the assistants, you have to recognize this so you can speak up and get a timeout to address the CE. They missed their window of opportunity.

[deleted]

crosscountry55 wrote
He will probably face a significant fine

WNBA officials get fined for missing calls?? 😮 Ok gotta make sure to avoid working that league.

crosscountry55

AremRed wrote
WNBA officials get fined for missing calls?? 😮 Ok gotta make sure to avoid working that league.

In the NBA, you get fined if you kick a rule, and that includes procedural errors. I would imagine the WNBA has a similar process for its officials in the CBA with the union.

The world of professional officiating is a lot different than the world of independently contracted officiating.

[deleted]

crosscountry55 wrote
In the NBA, you get fined if you kick a rule, and that includes procedural errors. I would imagine the WNBA has a similar process for its officials in the CBA with the union.

The world of professional officiating is a lot different than the world of independently contracted officiating.

Do you have a source?

JRutledge

Nevadaref wrote
He did stop and ask the T before counting the goal.
The Trail is official #26.

It looks like the T went to him, but either way he was given erroneous information. The L had bodies on the floor and his attention was there.

Peace

Raymond

AremRed wrote
Do you have a source?

Donnie Vaden, Zach Zarba, and Bob Delaney are 3 I've heard it from this year.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

APG

BadNewsRef wrote
Donnie Vaden, Zach Zarba, and Bob Delaney are 3 I've heard it from this year.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Can confirm, heard the same thing as BNR.

Also, WNBA rules do not allow the officials to go to the replay to decide if a shot went in or not.

[deleted]

How much do they get fined?

crosscountry55

APG wrote
Have heard the same thing...

Also, WNBA rules do not allow the officials to go to the replay to decide if a shot went in or not.

Interesting. Maybe this episode will cause the rules committee to reconsider that.

In that case, if you're not sure, swallow your pride and ask the table for help. This is why it's good to introduce yourself to table personnel before the game, and make them feel empowered to help. You never know when you might need them to help bail you out. On a shot, on identifying the fouler or shooter, etc.

Nevadaref

More than ten years ago was the last time that I chatted with an NBA official about the fines for "kicking" a rule. The fine was $1,000.

Other comments on this situation: the foul call should have been a charge, if the calling official hadn't been exaggerating his signals so much perhaps he would have seen the ball not enter the basket, perhaps if the NBA/WNBA shifted the focus of its hiring process for officials from physical look to mental acumen more calls would be proper and fewer of these errors would occur.

JRutledge

The official in question is an NCAA Men's Tournament official. So you are going to have to explain what acumen he would need to have any more than that background?

He was just given erroneous information. And I do recall that many people debated with me how the lead should never look up some years ago. I agree that he should have seen this play, but based on many conversations there are people that believe he should be focusing only on players on the floor, which he appeared to have done.

Peace

[deleted]

Nevadaref wrote
the foul call should have been a charge

Restricted area.

Nevadaref

AremRed wrote
Restricted area.

Thought of that already. Don't believe that it had anything to do with the call as the official never gives any indication by pointing to the arc/floor area.

Certainly not an expert in pro rules as I don't work those contests, but I also can't believe that the RA would apply under the conditions of this play. (an offensive rebound is obtained with the defender already inside the arc)

Camron Rust

Nevadaref wrote
Other comments on this situation: the foul call should have been a charge,

No it shouldn't have been. The defender moved forward and to the side into contact with an airborne shooter.