Coaches Behavior

[SC Official]

The sportsmanship memos read by the PA announcers before games do a pretty good job of curtailing fan problems here.

And I agree with the above poster. If the gym is silent and there’s one guy acting the fool, he probably won’t make it very long even if he’s not saying magic words. I don’t have to have rabbit ears for that one guy to be pissing me off (and likely the other quiet fans around him).

[sdoebler]

Not sure if you guys get this info but here are some stats for our state:
Ejections/Technical Fouls
Last year through January 2, the CHSAA Office had received 197 basketball game reports on technical fouls and ejections. There were seven coaches and 10 players ejected. This season through January 2, we received 197 reports and two were coach and 17 were player ejections.

[LRZ]

I should also add that when I have had to chastise an unruly fan, I typically got thanked by other people after the game.

[RefsNCoaches]

There is a Saturday youth league I am a part of and have been for 18 years ( coached in it several years ago and also served on their board for about 6 years when I lived on that side of town). I work their JRHS and HS league games. The HS league is basically the intramural league for 9th, 10th, 11th graders. I don't have any issues with coaches in this league cause I know all of them from my time being involved and the league is well run in terms of what they expect from their coaches and players....but there's always one kid...every year!

First weekend of games, last Saturday...HS league, kid comes out from a timeout and jumps up and grabs the rim with one hand..he doesn't hang on it... just kinda grabbed it and came back down. So, I figure I'll give him benefit of the doubt and I simply tell him to stay off the rims during time outs. This knucklehead replies under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear it "You need to shut the F up"....Rang him up...then he had the balls to say "This is BS"...so he got tossed and won't be playing this week either.

Coach asked me after I reported what did he say...I told him and he said, thanks and just shook his head.

Fans are gonna be fans...I don't care if it's V, JV, Frosh, JH, Travel ball, AAU or rec...they are 95% idiots that don't know the rules.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by SC Official

A lot of times when I hear officials tell fellow officials they need “thicker skin,” it’s code for “I don’t handle business when I need to and I let too much bad behavior go.”

You better check your code translator............and grow a thicker skin.

The fans are not there to watch me and I'm not trying to be noticed. Based on what the OP originally said, that is not a reason to throw somebody out or have them thrown out.

Speaking for myself, I take care of business. I'm just not in the business of listening to the crowd and growing elephant ears. I guess I'm just too worried about the players and the coaches. You know, what's actually happening on the court!

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Normally I agree with you on most things, but this I just can't. Fans are not our problem most of the time. The phrases he had a problem with are white noise. They shouldn't bother us to the point of letting it affect our attention. We should be able to ignore these things.

Bingo.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by Rich

I am not saying that the official should be over the top and ranting and raving -- but there's nothing that a quiet word with a cooperative game manager can't fix. On our (the schools') end, I'm trying best I can to get schools to be proactive with behavior and keep crap off the officials, who just want a positive experience and want to work.

I officiated at a school last week and the student section was just out of control. There 3 staff members, paid to be crowd control, did nothing but stand in the corner, glazed eyed. I let it go as I recognized that there's a systemic problem there and I wasn't going to fix it, but it made me unhappy, nonetheless.

For me, fan noise usually correlates to coach behavior. (My example above -- not. The coach was a gentleman all night.) I can ignore most of it, but when fans get personal or start in on members of the other team (student sections making fun of opposing players, for example), then it shouldn't just be ignored.

Now that is a great way to state your opinion and I agree with you.

The OP did not put it the way you put it. He made it sound like he was the one removing fans for saying things that quite frankly weren't that bad.

Your point is more spot on.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

You better check your code translator............and grow a thicker skin.

The fans are not there to watch me and I'm not trying to be noticed. Based on what the OP originally said, that is not a reason to throw somebody out or have them thrown out.

Speaking for myself, I take care of business. I'm just not in the business of listening to the crowd and growing elephant ears. I guess I'm just too worried about the players and the coaches. You know, what's actually happening on the court!

If this is high school sports we are talking about, I do not care what they are there to see, because this is often a school event where behavior that would be unacceptable in many areas would not be tolerated. Again, they do not have to be there if they do not know how to behave. And often fans say things that influence the players more than influence us in any way. If I have a player that has to hear certain things that would be considered inappropriate in any other school event, that is not acceptable to me. Who cares who they are hear to see. Not my issue and if I choose they will not be there to see anyone.

Peace

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

You better check your code translator............and grow a thicker skin.

The fans are not there to watch me and I'm not trying to be noticed. Based on what the OP originally said, that is not a reason to throw somebody out or have them thrown out.

Speaking for myself, I take care of business. I'm just not in the business of listening to the crowd and growing elephant ears. I guess I'm just too worried about the players and the coaches. You know, what's actually happening on the court!

Good ol' camp speak. What fouls do you swallow your whistle on so you won't be noticed, if that's your goal?

I don't think anyone said they were in the business of growing elephant ears. I certainly am not and neither is AremRed. I am in the business of not allowing fans to distract me, my partners, and the players from the competition. At the high school level where there are many nights with not a lot of spectators, one obnoxious fan could very well be removed. At the D1 level they play in big arenas where the officials are unlikely to hear any comments that cross the line in the crowd. And the fans that sit courtside who act up will be removed by security before the officials even have to get involved.

So please, stop with your holier-than-thou nonsense.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If this is high school sports we are talking about, I do not care what they are there to see, because this is often a school event where behavior that would be unacceptable in many areas would not be tolerated. Again, they do not have to be there if they do not know how to behave. And often fans say things that influence the players more than influence us in any way. If I have a player that has to hear certain things that would be considered inappropriate in any other school event, that is not acceptable to me. Who cares who they are hear to see. Not my issue and if I choose they will not be there to see anyone.

Yep.

I could not care less who the fans are there to see or how much they paid. Perplexes me that officials like SD think that should be a concern of ours. That's fanboy speak.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

If this is high school sports we are talking about, I do not care what they are there to see, because this is often a school event where behavior that would be unacceptable in many areas would not be tolerated. Again, they do not have to be there if they do not know how to behave. And often fans say things that influence the players more than influence us in any way. If I have a player that has to hear certain things that would be considered inappropriate in any other school event, that is not acceptable to me. Who cares who they are hear to see. Not my issue and if I choose they will not be there to see anyone.

Peace

Nothing wrong with your stance. I just don't think the things said in the OP were that bad and unacceptable behavior. We would be tossing people every single game if we are considering that unacceptable.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Good ol' camp speak. What fouls do you swallow your whistle on so you won't be noticed, if that's your goal?

I don't think anyone said they were in the business of growing elephant ears. I certainly am not and neither is AremRed. I am in the business of not allowing fans to distract me, my partners, and the players from the competition. At the high school level where there are many nights with not a lot of spectators, one obnoxious fan could very well be removed. At the D1 level they play in big arenas where the officials are unlikely to hear any comments that cross the line in the crowd. And the fans that sit courtside who act up will be removed by security before the officials even have to get involved.

So please, stop with your holier-than-thou nonsense.

I'm not holier than thou. I'm just not that offended by the statements in the OP. Once somebody swears or gets personal (using my name or saying something me specifically that crosses the line) then we have a problem and we get administration involved.

[SD Referee]

Originally Posted by SC Official

Yep.

I could not care less who the fans are there to see or how much they paid. Perplexes me that officials like SD think that should be a concern of ours. That's fanboy speak.

I didn't say it was a concern of mine. I just think that guys that start tossing people and going overboard on their authority are trying to be noticed or make themselves a bigger part of the action. I've seen it. Not every ref or every situation is that way, but it's fairly common.

Perhaps the things that happen are different based on geographical areas.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by SD Referee

I'm not holier than thou. I'm just not that offended by the statements in the OP. Once somebody swears or gets personal (using my name or saying something me specifically that crosses the line) then we have a problem and we get administration involved.

Nor am I. I don't remove fans because I get offended; I remove fans if and when I get distracted (and normally so do my partners and the participants).

Originally Posted by SD Referee

I didn't say it was a concern of mine. I just think that guys that start tossing people and going overboard on their authority are trying to be noticed or make themselves a bigger part of the action. I've seen it. Not every ref or every situation is that way, but it's fairly common.

Perhaps the things that happen are different based on geographical areas.

Removing fans is not "going overboard." Heck if game management does its job, much of the time we shouldn't even have to get involved.

At a couple of the schools I've been to, the administrator will come up to us and say "just give me the look and I'll remove him/her."

[rockyroad]

Random fan sitting in stands yells "You suck, ref" or "you're a cheater, ref", just ignore and keep working the game.

Random fan comes down to court, stands on sideline, points finger at me and screams "You're a cheater", game administration will be involved and fan will leave.

It's not what they say always, but how and where they say it from.