Over The Line Fans
 

I have a question for you guys regarding fans.

How much do you take from a rowdy fan that has something to say on every call you make before you have them escorted out by administration? While saying something about my call, they are saying something they deem as derogatory about my appearance or something they think will get under my skin. Basically name calling when disagreeing with my call.

I ask because I am going to see this same fan in the very near future and I don't want to have to listen to it again. I want them gone. Administration was alerted at the last venue and they were on board with getting rid of them if it happened again. It was late enough in the game where it didn't happen again. Most likely because the team of this fan was now winning.

I would love some guidance from you experienced guys on what you would do.

Thanks!

If all he's doing is disagreeing with the calls, then ignore it and play on. He's a fanboy watching the game through tinted glasses and will disagree with any call that doesn't go his team's way/ But if he's making personal comments about you or your partners, stop the game, go to the table, and have an administrator remove him. Let the administrator know that the game will not resume until the fan has been escorted from the gym.

Do not attempt to do anything about this yourself, including warning the fan. Leave all interaction to the administrator.

It was more than just disagreeing with my calls. I can deal with that and ignore pretty much all of that.

He was adding a derogatory word/phrase with it that he thought would upset me. I actually find it funny because it doesn't make sense, but I don't want it to escalate and it will with this fan and others in the fanbase if it's not taken care of.

Thank you for the advice. I knew to let the admin handle it. Let's say it happens right away the next game. Do you have admin do it right then and there? No warning?

I would. It makes for a much more peaceful game, and it sends the message to everyone if the ringleader is dealt with. One option you have is you could speak to the administration prior to the game and let them know of the issue that has occurred and that it will not be tolerated. They can then decide whether they want to warn the fan or not. You shouldn't personally issue any kind of warning to the fan. Leave that to the administration if they so choose. But when you're ready to get rid of the fan, if it comes to that, I would be very stern with the administrator that the game will not resume until he has been escorted from the gym.

Thank you for the input. That's pretty much the thought process I had in my head. I would inform the admin of what happened at the last game with this guy and then, if it happens again, alert the admin to have him removed.

If admin knew about it "last" game, then they should already know about it for the "next" game. If they are any good (and sometimes that's a big IF), they have addressed it with the fan already.

or at least hopefully admin will be ready to immediately address it at the first sign of misbehavior...

It sounds like this is an ongoing obsessive behavior on the part of this fan that almost borders on stalking. If he is ejected, be cautious that he might escalate - be sure you have an escort to your vehicle after the game, preferably LEO or security if they are present.

THe line in red makes me think this occurs at various venues, not necessarily the same place every time, as this fan travels to watch his child's team play whereever they may go.

Tossed my first fan this year. 15 point ball game in the 4th, this dude for the winning team went after my partner about a marginal travel he no-called. The rest of the gym wasn't exactly quiet, but this guy stuck out like a sore thumb cuz he was screaming. I was Lead on that side and during the free throws immediately following I turned to the AD who was conveniently in that corner, pointed at the fan, and asked if we can get him out. I held up the FT's for 10 seconds and the dude left peacefully.

Yes -- sorry, I misread the word "venue"

Different venues, thus different admin in charge. The same away team and same problem fan at both venues. I know the admin at both home venues very well and they will handle it if I want them to.

You are correct. This is a team that has been away and I just happen to be at the home venues.

Honestly, I don't expect anything to happen as this guy's team should win big, but you never know. Some people make a big deal about a call in a 30 point game.

Just pretend he is a head coach. ;)

I've only "ejected" a fan in a varsity game one time in all my years. And that is exactly how I did it.

We were in a quiet gym with maybe 3 dozen fans in attendance. My back was to him when he said it, but was standing directly in front of him (and his wife) as I was putting the ball at the disposal of B1 for a throw in.

He'd been chirping typical fan boy stuff all game which didn't bother me in the least - in fact, it was cracking me up. He was yelling that I couldn't possibly be right with my player control foul since the defender was "underneath the basket".

While inbounding, he loudly and proudly states, "You guys should have your licenses taken away...just terrible!". I didn't flinch, turn or shake my head...no body language. Just jogged across court to the table where the host school AD was sitting and said, "That guy on the front row is completely out of line - you know which guy I'm talking about don't you? (he nods his head yes) - and, I will not resume the game until he is escorted out of this gym."

I stay table side while he and his wife are walked out by the AD's assistant.

The rest of the game went smoover than buttah.

What level of play? My response here would vary a bit depending on the level and what specifically he is saying.

In a sub-varsity game, I'm not taking shit from anybody in the stands. I don't care if your kid fell on his ass and I didn't have a foul--a high school gymnasium is not the place for you to act like a caveman. In varsity, the stands are usually more full and it's louder and harder to discern what people are saying. That, and I'm laser focused on the action (not that I'm not in other games).

I tune out 99% of what people say while I'm on the court, so if it sticks with me, then it's something I should act on. Fortunately, I haven't had to do that yet.

People will never do this, but they need to realize that it's just high school sports. I didn't even remember most of the scores of my own games a week later when I played high school sports. It may seem like a big deal in the moment, but believe me, it's not. I do baseball too, and some of the stuff I hear out of the parents' mouths just blows my damn mind. Why get so worked up over something that most of the kids are obviously just playing for fun?

Because their little angel is going to go on and be the next LeBron/ARod/Manning. You are obviously depriving them a college scholarship and the fame and fortune of being a professional athlete.

I have no desire to ever have children, so that's something I'll just never experience I guess

Well.............I see where you are going with that. I'm ready to hit the "T" trail and start handing out.

High school varsity and I don't think it matters what he is saying. Just trying not to give out too much info about myself.

It certainly does matter what he's saying. You claimed to be a state tourney official, didn't you? I would think you'd have had to deal with this sort of thing on several levels by now throughout your career.

He was saying something about my appearance. Actually something the complete opposite of my appearance trying to get under my skin. He thought he was pretty funny and clever.

Obviously we all deal with the occasional comment by a fan and that I couldn't care less about, but this guy was riding me for 3/4 of a quarter on every call I made that went against his team.

Since I will be seeing the same guy at another game, and it could happen again, I wanted to know how to handle it.

I'm still not understanding what the guy is saying. If it is an over-the-top personal attack, go tell the game management that he is a problem. Depending on the severity, ask them to remove him or monitor him more closely.

But I'm still not seeing the need to do anything at all based on your cryptic descriptions. I look relatively young and have occasionally had fans make comments about my age. It isn't over the line, excessive, or anything else that requires a response. I ignore it and don't even stop to address it.

1. If it becomes a distraction you can't ignore, have it dealt with by game management. They may just tell him to knock it off, they may have him removed. If what they do doesn't work, insist he is removed.

As we do this longer, our tolerance for #1 goes up.

2. If it's obscene, racial, etc., have GM remove him/her. If you're able to continue the game while they do it, do so. If it's a disruption, or you don't trust gm to be able to deal with it while you're working the game, stop the game until the fan is removed.

This is extreme action, though.