The effect of a technical foul on a coach
 

I had a very high intense varsity boys game last night. Both teams pretty well evenly matched. Early on the visitors took an 8 point lead and the home coach was very frustrated.

Every time up-and-down the floor I was tableside and he complained about everything. After the 3rd time down the floor he said "blow you whistle and call the foul", so I did.

This was midway through the 2nd quarter, he was down 8 at the half. All he did early on was complain about the officiating time after time after time. Once he had his technical foul and was forced to sit, he began to coach. Down by as many as 13 in the 3rd quarter his team started to come back and ended up winning by 14.

I had this happen a number of times through the years that when coaches focus on coaching they do a much better job then when they focus on officiating the game.

Had a similar situation yesterday. My partner stuck the coach and he sat down and was quiet as a church mouse the rest of the game and just coached.

PS - It also helped that he was up by 20 much of the second half. ;)

My goal is always to get coaches back to coaching if they choose to officiate or concentrate on us. If I can do that without a T, that is even better. But sometimes that is all they seem to understand.

Peace

New 4-48
 

When lobbying turns into incessant complaining, just give a 4-48 warning. If it works and the behavior is modified, everybody wins. If it doesn't work and the coach doesn't stop, go to the T. Sometimes the inevitable can't be avoided. But at least you're giving the process a chance.

This works as well as a stop sign to some. Not all tools are used to with the same effectiveness.

Peace

That was my first thought. Was a warning a possibility here or had one already been given? Given your description, it sounds like the OP may have reacted a little emotionally and served tea before coffee.

+1. Game recently, good young official calls offensive foul six minutes into the game. Coach (on other end of floor) comes about two steps onto the floor and demonstratively waves both arms, but doesn't say much. Good young official issues T. Can it be defended? Yes. But did it fit and was it effective? Not really because now we ended up with more tension with the coach than we probably otherwise would have. IMHO, I thought a walk-back or a warning would have been more effective in that scenario.

On the floor and demonstrating? As close to an automatic as one can get.

Two small steps and more like a "whatever" gesture. I guess you had to be there. Normally I would agree with you, but this situation just seemed like it called for something more measured. Especially with the warning as an option this year.

IMO, this is a much more important "taking care of business so the next crew doesn't have to" than fashion police issues. Recently, in a 9th grade game, I cautioned, officially warned, then finally T'd a coach. My partner said, "I've known him for years, he's always like that. He's always hyper." Apparently, no one before had ever told the coach that his conduct was unacceptable?

I think coaches would collectively behave better if we got away from the stigma of technical fouls and just called them when warranted without worrying about all the repercussions. Incredible how much better NBA coaches behave than their high school and college counterparts, partially because NBA officials are not scared to TCOB when warranted.

The difference is we all have our own lines in the sand with regards to behavior.

Fashion police rules are, well, rules, and it shouldn’t really matter what our opinion is.

There are rarely things that I would call an "automatic" T. For one if you are different places, there are different cultures of behavior, which means you have to handle those situations differently. And if that is the only outburst, then I might not even have to give a warning if that is all the coach did. Again the goal is not to call Ts if you can because just like stated if it does not make the game better, then you might have interjected tension into the game that would not normally be there. The Ts I gave even 5 years ago is very different than the Ts I give now.

I had a game last night with two very demonstrative coaches. If we had given a T for every time they waved their arms or clapped or ranted about something, we would have given multiple Ts. We as a crew choose to handle the situation and we did not need to give a T at any point in the game. Lesser experienced officials would have had Ts a probably an ejection. Also, no warning was given during the night. Not everything can be said to be "automatic."

Peace

I don't mean to minimize fashion police rules. What I meant was to compare the importance of TCOB re fashion rules and TCOB re coaches' behavior: if a crew does not enforce the fashion rules, and I have to do so the next game, no big deal, I do so. But crews that don't try to control coaches' misconduct? That's another story, entirely. In my little corner of PA, too many officials fail to TCOB about coaches' conduct--they have no line in the sand at all. Get in, collect the check, get out.

Sounds great, but we are all different. What offends you, might be normal to me. What I can deal with, you might struggle with. If I have learned anything as an official, not everyone can handle the same kind of situations. So we can call Ts all over the place, that is not going to change how those react to them.

Peace

I have almost no problems at all with college coaches. And the times college coaches do get T'd, they are never a problem the rest of the game.

That's great for you, but I was speaking as a whole. NBA coaches collectively get away with far less than high school and college coaches.

My experiences are representative of the whole. College coaches conduct themselves so much better than High School coaches is not even a comparison. It is two different planes.

College coaches have to answer to both the coordinator of officials for the conference and the conference commissioner. You don't see any more Bobby Knight's out there.

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I think that in many cases the NBA rule on Ts for coaches makes it easier to call a T.....when then the penalty is one shot ( and no possession), an official will be more likely to call it..... think about what a T is... it is a Technical Violation of the Rules... in the NBA it’s one shot... (most likely a donation to NBA charities) and hey coach, you got my attention and you’re half way out the door. But this doesn’t change the complexion of the game...

Too many officials at NFHS level are worried that a T is two shots and the ball.. which could result in a 4 or 5 point play and a big swing in momentum..we shouldn’t worry about this but too many do...

You really think officials are worried about two shots that much? I think the issue is that there are no other penalties associated with a T, wherein the NBA there actually is penalties for accumulated Ts. It is usually the fall out I think that is the issue more than giving a T. We do not get supported many times in high school. In the NBA it is hard to dispute an official giving a T when we see him going nuts. Coaches at the high school level say all kinds of things and if you give them a T, they will claim you did something wrong to them.

Peace

Now, while I did give out several T's last year, the question I always get is "Was it deserved?" The amount of times I want to simply shout "You know Coach X is a jerk. If he doesn't get a technical it's a miracle." is impossible to count.

I avoid T's (in HS) just to escape the paperwork, incessant questions, and lectures on game management. At this point, I bang it only if the kid's being a dick, or the coach makes it so public I can't let it go. Of course, that might've been the whole point of my assignor anyway. :rolleyes:

College? I mostly do JuCo. If I don't stick those cats, they're going to make that D3 Jersey Brawl look like a tea party.

I actually do think officials worry about it. I’ve heard the discussions. Did not say it was right. I agree that support could be a factor as well.. if the association doesn’t back you, you’re reluctant... I wish the State Associations would adopt accumulated rules and fines to curb bad behavior..it’s many of these coaches that are driving officiating numbers down

:eek:

Let me make my position clear. I am sure there are officials that do worry about all kinds of things like how many shots they get and they get the ball. I just do not think that this is a majority or a constant issue with officials. I only say that because usually officials I know never talk about that aspect of penalty. They do talk about the paperwork potential or make it seem like they do not want to be a "bad guy" or affect their ratings. They are reluctant, but not for that reason that I can tell in overwhelming numbers. Heck, I even started officiating in another state as well and the officials have to give a file a report for every single T given. I have not heard anyone suggest they were unwilling to do that part yet.

Peace

This is the position I hear a lot from officials more than anything. I have given Ts only to have someone suggest, "Could you have not done that" from someone that I might have worked for or some fellow official. Or they tell you how much they get along with that coach that called you everything but a child of God. And the suggestion is somehow it was your fault and not their behavior that caused the T result.

Peace

Some officials are classified as being "Safe", they won't make the tough call whether is a foul or a "T".

This season I have implemented a joint captains and coaches meeting in front of the table before the game starts in lieu of the traditional captain's meeting and then meet & greet with coaches. I have to say that I have found that the coaches that I have done it with seem to behavior better. Coincidence maybe:confused:

In the joint meeting I say everyone is getting the same message at the same time on how we will conduct the game. Its funny that some coaches feel like they have done something wrong before the game starts;)

It may vary by state, but according to the officials manual, the one joint meeting is the only one approved by NFHS. I recall it was an option last year, but it is the only one listed this time. I prefer the one meeting, but our group is split on it.

Coaches answer to the coordinator? That's news to me. Normally it's the other way around.

And NBA coaches are still better behaved collectively than college coaches.

There are plenty of assigners, camp clinicians, officials, coaches, administrators, etc. who assume you are in the wrong someway, somehow whenever you issue a T, e.g. it must have been the result of bad game management. We are the bad guys for taking care of business. No, this is not the case most of the time, but it does happen. And that is one of the reasons officials may be reluctant to whack.

Instead of asking "what could we have done differently?" or "did it fit?" every time a T is issued, maybe just admit that the coach's reaction was disproportionate with the actual or perceived slight.

You get to choose how you handle the pregame festivitites? We're told what to do down here (one meeting with captains and coaches). I'd much rather just do it the "college way" and meet the captains then shake each coach's hand separately without having a stupid meeting.

Yes that does happen..There is a sense of doubt and a putting an official on the spot with those type of questions out of the gate:(

I officiated boys'/girls H.S. in Miami, Florida, from 1973 to 1977, and the OP that started this thread reminded me of three boys' JV games that I had during the 1973-74 season, all of them at Miami Beach H.S. The M.B.H.S. JV-HC was involved in all three TFs, and I do not remember who won those three games.

The first game: The JV-HC started chipping at my partner and I from the moment the ball left my hands for the opening JB. It was non-stop until I finally WHACKED him about 2/3's of the way through the 3rd QT. After that we did not hear a peep from him the rest of the game.

The second game: Same as the first game but I decided that I had heard enough and WHACKED him mid way through the 2nd QT. Quiet as a church mouse after that.

The third game: Same as the first and second games, but decided to WHACK him about 90 seconds into the 1st QT. Quiet as a church mouse after that.

I had come to the conclusion that he had a persecution complex and needed the TFs for validation. I had him a couple of more times of the next three years but I guess he knew enough to not do any whining in my games.

MTD, Sr.

Keeping A List, Checking It Twice ...
 

For many years now, the Connecticut interscholastic sports governing body has required referees (not umpires) to file paperwork for any ejection of a coach (one flagrant, two directs, three indirects), which leads to a one game suspension.

This year, my local board (not sure about the other little corners in Connecticut) has instituted a new policy. Any unsporting technical foul given to any coach (head, assistant, varsity, junior varsity, freshman, middle school) will be reported (with minimum paperwork) to our assignment commissioner. If he sees a pattern of poor behavior in a particular coach, he will report such behavior to the school's athletic director and/or principal.

It turns out that athletic directors and principals want to be informed of such poor behavior, especially for coaches in road games, when the athletic director and/or principal may not be physically present to observe such behavior. Athletic directors and principals may use such information for promotions/demotions, and contract renewals. Even coaches who are teachers (and belong to a teacher's union) are all on one year renewable contracts and can be "non-renewed" for cause.

This new policy is mainly aimed at inexperienced subvarsity coaches who tend to abuse inexperienced subvarsity officials, staying under the radar by getting their "licks" in while avoiding game ejections.

Or the opposite, what effect does "T"ing a coach have on the official?
 

I know coaches who are convinced after they get whacked they start getting more calls going their way. :eek:

It must be true—every coach knows that!

There was a study done (I think it was the Israeli Airforce, but not sure) about the effects of screaming at pilots after they had a poor exercise. The trainers pointed to the fact that the pilot yelled at after a poor performance usually did better his next effort—proof that the abuse was effective. Alas, statistical analysis of the performances showed that the supposed performance could be explained by simply regression to the mean—anyone is more likely to have an average performance than a poor performance; the poor performance set a low bar for the next exercise. Add confirmation bias to the mix, and it easy to understand why they trainers believed the yelling was effective.

I think there is something similar with the coaches. Often coaches get unglued when a series of calls go against them. Regression to the mean suggests that will end. When it does, it “confirms” that the yelling worked—even when totally unrelated.

I am an assigner (23 boys and 22 girls varsity programs) and a regular clinician as well as an official.

(1) I wish officials (in general) called more technical fouls, not fewer. This year I'd like to see a warning in the book for each technical that fits the "persistent" category of the three Ps, though.

(2) When an official complains about a coach's behavior in one of my sportsmanship surveys or through an email, I ask when the T was assessed. If you don't whack him, then you have nothing to bitch about.

(3) When I get a report from an official, I thank him/her for the report. When I get a complaint from a coach that he/she got whacked, I ask for video. I want to see why a coach "didn't deserve it."

In 4 years of assigning HS varsity officials -- over 1000 games -- there is only 1 technical so far that I thought was unwarranted, and it was a second direct technical on a coach where I wasn't surprised it was who it was.

thank you!

Sipping My Powerade Zero ...
 

On the long drive home, on an icy road, on a cold wintry night, I've never regretted charging a technical foul to a coach. Never.

I have regretted passing on such a call. Not a lot, but a few. It was always the same thing, saying to myself, "But I thought that he would eventually calm down".

And you’re one of the many good assigners when it comes to this aspect of the position. I would say that most assigners are like you on this, but sadly there are some that are not.

And I’m 100% with you on officials that bitch about a coach’s behavior yet did nothing about it during the game. Of course, this isn’t helped by states that rely on coaches’ input for postseason assignments.

Sometimes I think people use “game management” as a cop-out for “not taking care of business.” I also think that a lot of officials that boast about never giving Ts aren’t as great of “game managers” as they purport–they just let coaches get away with more than they should.

I sat through an association meeting where an instructor spent a lot of time talking about how Ts are bad and how it will hurt ratings.

I'm not in the leadership so I bit my tongue, but it was horrible advice.


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I’ve heard someone say that your first foul call after a coach T should be against his team so the other coach doesn’t think he misbehaved his way into getting calls.

I’ve also heard it said that your first foul call after a coach T should be against his opponent so that he doesn’t think he’s getting screwed.

And then there’s the philosophy I use: just call what I see.

At the high school and college levels there are too many officials that think like that instructor. You’d never hear that lunacy from NBA officials.

Ironically, the officials like this instructor are often the ones who talk about Ts being “just another foul,” despite treating it very differently from normal fouls.

Exactly.

I think we should whack more coaches.

I also think that it's not anywhere close to being like another foul.

I wish more officials, instructors, and clinicians would be real instead of using all this "speak."


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Locally we’ve moved to a similar rule. Tracking all techs through conferences and suspensions being tied excessive numbers. I know the intent of the rule is to protect officials but the letter of rule and reality make it nonsensical. T can be for i sporting behaviour, but also delay of game, uniform or book errors. All techs recorded for purpose of rule silly. Also assumes all Ts even for unsportin* are equal. I work in zones where it is expected coaches jump up and down and complain and unless they say the magic words you give them rope, I also work with partners and in zones who t guys up for moving outside the coaching box once or coaching loudly while the other team shoots free throws.

As others have said we should be calling more ts but until a T is a T. Tracking and uniformly recording them makes little sense.

Had an undefeated ranked team last night. Player drives gets fouled, easy call since the defender moved towards an airborne shooter with significant contact, ball was definitely affected and did not go in, call the foul, offender yells at me and throws their arms around. Technical foul.

Player made both shooting fouls with the lanes cleared, made both technical foul free throws, their team got the ball at half court. That team ended up losing by three.

Slept like a baby. I have no problem if a player or coach crosses the line and violates a rule in the rulebook. A technical foul is just another foul and that’s why it’s in rule 10. Take care of your business and help the next crew.

Let's stop pretending it's anothet foul. No other foul is like a technical foul.


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Well, yes and no. Of course it’s not, but the mentality that it is can be useful in remembering to take a deep breath, confer with your partners, and assess the penalty correctly.


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Somewhat off topic, but I can’t stand unnecessary/excessive discussions with partners. Most technical fouls shouldn’t require a discussion, especially in HS where the penalty is the same for all Ts.

The main reason you need to discuss with a partner after a T is to make sure you do everything you are supposed to. I agree the rule application is the same when it comes to something like where you put the ball in play, but you have to still shoot everything else and make sure the right people shoot the FTs. Many times officials are not sure who is shooting or what just happened if they did not call the T. Even an administrative T might have to be explained to the table because they might give the appropriate people the technical foul like in my game the other day. Yes the application is simple and penalty, but people forget parts of the penalty often. Even in college, you got to make sure who you are giving the ball to and that has been messed up or almost messed up. That is why we have to stop telling people that Ts are just like other fouls, they are clearly not.

Peace

One Tool In The Toolbelt ...
 

Isn't "taking care of business" part of "game managment"? They are not mutually exclusive.

Human Element ...
 

For all technical fouls listed on a spread sheet leading to suspensions? Sure.

We're including the human element here. Officials only report unsporting (not an illegal uniform) technical fouls, including a brief description of the situation. Our assignment commissioner looks for patterns of unsporting behavior. If circumstances merit it, he will report such patterns (no predetermined limit, but three reports for one school may merit some attention) of unsporting behavior to the athletic director and/or principal (the state and/or conference/league is not involved). There are no predetermined consequences, suspensions, etc. Some athletic directors and/or principals may just toss such a report aside. But many athletic directors and/or principals may sit down with said coach and have a heart to heart discussion with the coach. And then there are a few athletic directors and/or principals out there who are just waiting for such "ammunition" to non-renew the coaches one year renewable contract.

We need to give the person calling the technical foul a moment to take a deep breath and get everyone in the right spot post-technical. I don't want to whack someone and then be in his lap 10 seconds later. Others might, but I don't see the need. And some officials might need to take a moment to get the shooter to the right end of the floor, etc.

As far as reporting technicals, don't ever let the assigner be blindsided by a phone call or an email from the coach or AD complaining about a technical foul. The official should be the first one to contact the assigner and/or file a report if that's what's required. Do I think it's right that technical fouls need to be reported? No. But here they are required at the state level any time a head coach loses the box, so I want a copy of that as the assigner.

I got a report from a crew earlier this season that was just perfect. It included the time and the why of the administrative warning and then the time and description of what led to the technical foul. I then used this in my follow-up with the school.

No they’re not mutually exclusive; my point was that those kinds of officials think technical fouls are an indication of bad game management.

We have an old guy who used to be good decades ago who still brags that he hasn't given out a technical in YEARS.

As the person running those meetings, I quickly replied that I expect the officials I hire (and he's not one of them) to penalize poor sportsmanship and moved on.

Where I live we get a certain number of partner and school scratches, and I’d be willing to bet he’d be on my list.

He’s probably one of those guys that goes over and laughs with the coach that his partner just whacked.

Which reminds me of another pet peeve of mine.

I don't maintain a school blacklist. I won't. I consider it an unethical practice.


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School Scratches ...
 

I'm sure that you would still allow school "scratches" for "conflicts of interest". I would never want to officiate at my daughter's school while was playing basketball. That would certainly be a lose lose situation.

Knowing that I was a basketball official, I was once asked by the athletic director (a friend of mine) at my daughter's school to umpire a junior varsity softball (I'm not a softball umpire) game when the umpires didn't show up one afternoon. It was me, or cancel the game. I explained to both coaches that I was not a softball umpire and that I was a parent of a junior varsity player. They both still wanted me to umpire. No equipment, so I called balls and strikes from behind the pitcher. Even with everyone on board, I was still uncomfortable the entire game, and it was only a junior varsity game. I received a check in the mail which I sent back asking that the money be deposited into the athletic awards account.

We shouldn’t have it here. But schools are allowed to maintain scratch lists of officials (also dumb), so I guess it’s only fair that officials get the same privilege. I have a couple officials scratched but I don’t scratch any schools. The way I see it, if a coach or AD has some sort of beef with me, they can use one of their scratches if they don’t want to see me again. There’s one school in the area that a bunch of officials scratch because they don’t like way the boys coach acts. In other words, they’re too scared to whack him.

I whacked a girls coach who was up 20 points late in the game and wanted to start coaching me and got all butthurt when I asked him to deal with his assistant. He said “you’re going on my list” and I looked at him and said “I do not care” and walked away.

That's not a school scratch. That's an assigning decision.

I work games in my daughter's district. I will stop while she's in HS. If they didn't want me, they wouldn't hire me.


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You misunderstood - or I wasn't clear. I don't let a school blacklist officials. If an official tells me he/she doesn't want to work a school, I'd honor that.

I don't want the schools to think for a minute they control who they get. I assign for a league and one of the reasons they hire assigners is to eliminate the appearance of home schools dictating who works their games.


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The effect of a technical foul on a coach
 

By the way, that comment is a flagrant technical. If a coach threatens an official working there, he may as well get a head start on calling the assigner.


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Exactly what I thought when i read it.

There is an assignor in our state who I really like and is pretty well respected. He said he allows schools to tell him who they don't want to work their home games. He says sure they have a say in who works at there school, however the moment they do that I look at there schedule and put that official on 5-10 of there away games. He doesn't get a whole lot of those requests anymore.

I've had an AD tell me that a certain official won't be allowed in his school again.

I haven't had a scheduling cycle since, but this is a great idea. However, I'm not fond of putting an official into a meat grinder when I can avoid it....so I'm a bit conflicted.

So if you assigned that official to work at his school anyway, would they go so far as to physically bar him from being there? How would that work out?

Out of curiosity, what was your response to the AD? What did the official do or reportedly do to trigger that ultimatum?

Really? Is this any different from when coaches say “you will never work here again”?

To me it's the equivalent.

Well just put him/her in a couple of games and let it ride.

At least assignors only control their conference. I could have a coach not want me during a non-conference, tournament or playoff game and that coach has no control over such a thing.

I had an ejection this summer from a coach that does not like me and he told me, "I will make sure you never work any of my games." Well, early in the season I worked one of his best rivals in a game and have him like two more times. And we have not gotten to the playoffs yet. Usually getting playoff games shut them up around here because they are so paranoid that they act like angels when they realize how little power they have over the process.

Peace

Yup, and it should be an ejection. Problem is, a lot of assigners don't back the officials they way they should when this crap happens.

Agreed. I can’t imagine giving a flagrant T for either comment. Matter of fact, I can’t imagine any words/statements that would get a flagrant T from me at the varsity level (maybe slurs if said loud enough, but thankfully that’s never happened to me).

In South Carolina, if you’re scratched by a school, you don’t work any games for it: region, non-region, home, away, postseason...doesn’t matter.

Well, that does not work here because assigning for each type of game might be assigned by a completely different person. Again, the only one they have the power to do that with is maybe their conference assignor. And we have similar conference assignors to D1, where one person that assigns has no association with another conference. They will not have an assignor from another conference give a damn about their so-called request for a scratch. And the IHSA does not take scratches and they assign all playoff games. Heck, it has been known that an official had a problem with a school/coach only to have them in the early rounds of the playoffs (all ejections are filed to the IHSA and even other incidents in some cases). They do not give coaches that kind of power in general. The IHSA wants us to give more Ts for things that would cause problems with coaches.

Peace

I would hope that the school would be required to provide a pretty strong, legitimate reason to justify a scratch.

Otherwise it seems like it would be pretty easy to abuse against officials who take care of business as JRut and others have said.

I would laugh it off and/or make some sort of comment in response at the HS level, b/c I definitely don't have to worry about my schedule.

At the college level I would hit them with a Class-A.

Really???

How about the coach that yells "You are a f@cking cheater!!" No flagrant T for that?

Or how about "You mother-f@cker"...no flagrant T for that?

Just calling you a cheater alone? I do not know that would get a Flagrant by itself either. I was called something else and did give a Flagrant T earlier, but it was not being called a cheater. Heck they are basically calling you that when they talk about foul counts. Need stronger language for that alone. I would rather give two Ts than one.

Peace

Nope. But schools only get to scratch a certain number of officials statewide (not sure what the number is). All varsity games (save certain holiday tournaments) are assigned on the same Arbiter account, so it's pretty simple to just go in and add/remove scratches.

I think it's stupid, but SC is not the only state that gives schools this type of control over who doesn't get to work their games. Heck, I think in Texas both coaches have to approve the crews assigned to each game (or something like that).

I'd rather give two Ts than one to eject/DQ someone. It makes it more obvious that the individual hung himself. Chances are, if the coach is calling you that, he's going to get his second T shortly after his first because he's not going to calm down. And if my partners decide not to do their job, I will happily issue T #2 even if I also gave #1. I'm not afraid of doing this like some officials are.

I do not think anyone is saying that other states do not do this, but that does not mean it is the best system either. I just think that gives coaches too much power if you have a say over even a game in another part of the state.

Peace

Believe me, I know it’s not the best system, which is why I prefaced my comment by saying “I think it’s stupid.”

In southern california if a team wants you removed from a game you are assigned they still have to pay your fee + you were at the top of the list for any assignment that day.

I was scratched only once and it was easy money in my opinion. I did my best to get scratched more often but I think budget cuts made it almost impossible for schools to throw that kind of money around.

They have to do the same here as well if you are contracted to do the game. But scratches in my experience are done before assignments are made. So you would not be assigned to that school anyway. Really not that big of a deal here and most of the time you really do not know why you do not go back.

I have said this before, chances are I will be around longer than the coach. So I do not worry about someone I would not have seen once every few years anyway and many times that coach is not there if I have that school again. A veteran who I loved and respected once said (RIP Eddie), "If you are doing your job right, you will get scratched by someone." And another assignor I know says, "Think of how many schools you likely passed to get to that school that does not want you." Gotta keep this in perspective IMO.

Peace

What had happened was I had said school in a game that didn't end the way they wanted. I ended up reporting their AD and principal to our association for their behavior. I just so happened to have them again 3 days later. Before I could request removal they beat me to the punch the next morning. If I had them again with a larger gap I would not have even thought about requesting removal, but 3 days was too soon for even me to want to see any of their faces.

Those are both personal and profane and would get him ejected in any baseball game I've worked over the last 25+ years at any level.

Why does he get more leeway in hoops? That coach would be gone.

Well in baseball, guys get ejected for looking at umpires wrong. When I worked baseball, guys would love to brag about how many guys they got rid of during games as if it was a badge of honor. In football, a coach can have a meltdown and nothing ever happens to them as it comes to being penalized (e.g Mark Richt). When is the last time you saw a football coach get ejected from anything but a high school game? Basketball seems to be somewhere in the middle of those two sports. Now if you are working a baseball game, that might be OK because of the culture of that sport, but it is said often that umpires are either confrontational or too sensitive.

In basketball, if something is not obvious to everyone, people (meaning fellow officials or coaches and media) are often scrutinizing us for what coaches get ejected for. How many times has a coach said something inappropriate, but no one heard a single thing but you as an official and it turns into he said, he said situation? Well, I cannot speak for you, but for me, that has happened often. So I am not ejecting a coach just because they used foul language. As a matter of fact, if I ejected every coach that used foul language, at least in these parts I would have ejections every other game and probably would not get hired anymore. I tend to use other skills to get accomplished what I want or to get the behavior to stop, especially when the behavior is not very well identified by an observer. I would rather eject someone for something everyone sees or hears so that there is no question they did that act.
But I have been saying this for a long time, if they roll the dice, they just might crap out. So you are totally in the right if you choose to do such a thing, but I would rather make it so the other questions cannot be easily raised about me. Because at the end of the day, you eject a coach it becomes about you to those that claim they did nothing wrong.

Peace