Good Old Boy Network

[RedAndWhiteRef]

This post actually isn't about the politics within my association, as the title suggests. I'm very happy in my association. But I have one small issue that I'd like to raise, which I've brought up in previous posts. For some background, I'm probably our youngest official (24) that regularly gets varsity games. I'm no rookie, though--this is my fifth year of officiating.

I feel that our refs allow coaches to talk entirely too much during games. Part of the reason behind this, I think, is that it's a smaller town (with a major public university) where most of the coaches have been at their schools for 10, 20, even 30 years. Everybody knows everybody. In pregame I often bring up potential problem coaches. More than once, a partner has said, "Yeah, that's how they are during games. They've been doing it their whole careers. I know them though, they're okay people." Great. They're okay people. Does that mean we shouldn't address their behavior during the game?

Case in point: Last night, GV game. V coach, who's been there for 15 years, is known for being a little whiny. I bring this up in pregame, and my partners are also aware of this. At the break between the first and second quarters, he comes out to midcourt to dispute a call with one of my partners. I really only see it out of my peripherals as I'm down on the low block near the other bench, but I can't believe my partner didn't address it. I don't blame him for not whacking him, but as far as I know he didn't even give a warning. I asked him about it at halftime and my partner answered with "I probably should have done something, but that's just how he is."

This is only one of many incidents of a partner allowing ignorant coach behavior to slide in an area where I would have done something. It's probably too late to do anything about it this season, but what's a reasonable way to bring this up to the association, if anything, without rocking the boat?