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Since I wasn’t there to observe Griblets’ situation I had to respond according to how he described the two events. When he uses words such as “absolutely atrocious” and “sickening” to describe the coach’s behavior/treatment of his players I have to take his words for what they mean. Some on this forum have fallen in love with the word “egregious” as in, “Unless it (some minor rules infraction) was egregious, I won’t enforce it.” Okay, if we agree we should enforce a rule about a minor obscure action only when it has reached a level that is egregious, why is it that a major meltdown in a coach’s conduct/behavior that everyone in the gym can see, that one of our colleagues describes as absolutely atrocious or egregious, does not even warrant at least addressing the coach about it? And it’s not a matter of “don’t go looking for trouble” either. The “trouble” had already presented itself loud and clear for all to see, waiting for us to make a decision: Do I address it or let it pass? Regarding comments such as, “Moral police? No thanks.” and “Please don’t interject my personal moral and ethical beliefs” - well good grief! Those are the beliefs of the NFHS regarding their standards and expectations of “moral and ethical behavior, and upholding the honor and dignity of the profession” as worded in their Coaches and Officials Code of Conduct found in their rule book and addressed as a responsibility of coaches in Rule 10. It is their rule that charges officials the responsibility of jurisdiction to make decisions regarding the conduct/behavior of coaches, players and bench personnel among other things.
Their Codes for Coaches and Officials are also likely adopted and found in the basketball regulations of most of your state associations. They are in my state of Ohio.
When a situation like Griblets described occurs, do I want to be in that situation? No. Do I want to be “that guy” who feels he must at least address the coach or perhaps penalizes the coach? No. But I also don’t want to be “that guy” who crawls under the bleachers either. If a coach’s conduct/behavior can be described as “absolutely atrocious and sickening”, that behavior certainly does not meet the standards of the NFHS, your state association and most likely the school’s coaches handbook. So, when this conduct happens during a scholastic game under NFHS rules, there are only 2 or 3 people in the entire gym that, like it or not, have been given jurisdiction over that behavior at the time it occurs. Not the parents, not the school administration, not the state association and not the NFHS. The important question is not whether I want to be in that situation, or do I want to be “that guy.” I clearly do not. The question really is, if I have to make a tough decision regarding “egregious” conduct of a coach, under my game jurisdiction, do I have the guts to make it? Or do I say, “No thanks OHSAA and NFHS. I don’t want to police your moral and ethical standards for coaches.”
Griblets, I had a very similar situation occur in a state regional tournament game that would be of interest to you and perhaps some of my forum friends from Ohio. In the meantime, my advice to you is, if the behavior is as you described, address the coach asap and politely let him know that his conduct does not meet the standards of the state and national federation and, although not directed at the officials, that behavior still comes under the official’s jurisdiction and will not be tolerated. Or, if you want to have fun with it, use Mark Padgett’s story next time!
Thank you for posting your situation. I appreciate your honesty in expressing your feelings of regret for how you handled it and your request for help and support if it should happen again. I get the feeling that based on your experience, doing nothing the next time will likely not be an option. Based on my experience as well, I would agree.
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