Quote:
Originally Posted by Cliffdweller
After reading what the official said, I have changed my mind....
“I think it’s pretty obvious what went down,” Gill said.
Gill said that he had spoken to Easley just prior to the play.
“I had spoken to the player on the play before and he told me that I was in his way,” Gill said. “I asked him how long he’d been playing football and he had to realize that the referees are part of the field. I told him that he should have to avoid me and not the other way around. On the very next play, you saw what happened.”
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The reason you know this is intentional: it happened on the VERY NEXT PLAY after the conversation too place. Had it been 10 minutes later, there could've been some room for doubt.
However, as an umpire, I certainly wouldn't talk to a player like that. The whole conversation sounds needlessly confrontational. I do my best to try to stay out of the scrum as much as possible (although sometimes it's unavoidable). I've even apologized to players for getting in the way, or thanked them for "not killing me" when I do get caught up.
Also, depending on how lower levels of play are officiated, it's entirely possible he hasn't had to deal with an umpire in the middle of the field before now. Around here, all of our non-varsity games are officiated with 2 wings and an R, or sometimes just two wings (which is terrible for all kinds of reasons). The only time we add an Umpire and Back Judge is on Varsity games.