Speaking of rats...
 

Football story, but relevant to basketball.

Someone will be looking for a new crew. I would never work this guy again.

https://www.mlive.com/sports/flint/i...ns_in_two.html

A member of the officiating crew for the Millington-Ithaca game sent an email to the Michigan High School Athletic Association saying the ejection was unjust and they penalties were undeserved.

MLive obtained a copy of the email, which detailed the penalties as described above.

"When that referee emailed the MHSAA and carbon copied me, that's when the MHSAA knew it had a problem because I was in on the email," Dantinne said. "An (MHSAA) official told us that 'life isn't fair' is the lesson we should have learned. I think that's the excuse of a coward.

The OhioHSAA and the MichiganHSAA both use an online system for filing game reports. The two systems are different but both have a section where all officials in the crew are to be listed.

Both the OhioHSAA and the MichiganHSAA have the same ejection report protocol:

1) The school Principal or Athletic Director is to be called within 48 hours of the game (which I think is too long of a period, the call should be made the very next morning) or the first school day if the ejection was on a Friday or weekend.

2) The online game report is to be filled within 48 hours of the ejection; the school is set a copy of the game report immediately.

Mark, Jr., and I have always called the Principal (and not the Athletic Director for two reasons: (i) the Principal is the AD's boss and (ii) because we all know that doggie do-do flows downhill not uphill) the very next school day, but we also do something a little different. As soon as we return home we write up a game report on a Word document; this allows us to (i) put the relevant facts to paper while they are still fresh in our minds, (ii) look up all relevant Rules and Casebook Plays, and (iii) make sure that we use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. We can then copy and paste the report into the online game report. But more importantly, we can copy and paste it into an email which we immediately send to the Principal. The email is CC'ed to the AD and all members of the crew. It also alerts the Principal to expect a phone call from us and why we are calling. That way neither the Principal (nor the AD, who, depending upon the sport, may not know that an ejection had occurred) is not blind sided about the ejection by our phone call.

I read about this situation online over the weekend. There was no video of the infractions that resulted in the Player's and the HC's ejections. And even if there were, as someone who does not officiate football I would not be qualified to evaluate the situation. And the article that I read left a lot to be desired in describing the infractions so I could not tell really what happened and what the complaining official was disputing in the game report. This will be a situation that will be handled behind closed doors and we will never (I apologize to the late J. Dallas Shirely) know the complete story.

MTD, Sr.

"Ejection" Report ...
 

Here in Connecticut, the "ejection" report process is quite simple.

Officials (possible exception for soccer yellow and red cards) don't contact the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the schools, the athletic directors, nor the principals.

Officials only contact their board’s designated contact (for my local board it's our assignment commissioner), who contacts the CIAC, the CIAC then contacts the offending school's principal, and athletic director.

http://ciacsports.com/site/?page_id=34

Click on right hand tab, "Cards/Ejections".

With the exception of confirming assignments, members of my local basketball board are forbidden from having any direct contact with athletic directors and principals. With the exception of confirming assignments, all other types of communication always goes through our assignment commissioner.

Always forbidden. I know. I made a mistake once when a coach asked me to send his athletic director a positive comment that I had made to him regarding his team's behavior. I sent cc copy to my assignment commissioner, and was admonished for not going through proper channels.

https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.H...=0&w=207&h=162

Mr. Big Stuff Said That He Could Stand Wherever He Wanted To ...
 

Reminds me of the time I was working a game at one of our state technical high schools. As the lead, with little space between the endline and the wall, I noticed a well dressed (suit, vest, tie) guy standing along the endline, who was a little too close to the action and had a chance of getting in my way, or the way of the players.

I politely asked him to please move.

He replied, in a highly authoritarian tone, that he was the school principal, it was his school, and that he could stand wherever he wanted to.

I replied, still in a polite tone, that I was in charge of the game, it was my duty to insure the safety of the players and the officials, and that we would stop play until he moved to a safer location.

Fancy clothes notwithstanding, he moved.

https://youtu.be/9f4CyQto-0E

Mr. Big Stuff (Jean Knight, 1971)

Why do you need to call the principal in addition to e-mail? Just lay out all the facts in the e-mail and avoid having to call him/her.

But the fact that you even have to directly contact the principal/AD is stupid. They're already going to get a call from the state office, and chances are they'll figure out what happened before the sun comes up the next day, if they weren't at the game watching.

Surprise ...
 

We have to complete the "ejection" report and email it to our assignment commissioner within twenty-four hours.

But he also wants us to call him as soon as possible, that night if possible, to give him a quick oral description what happened. He wants to be prepared to answer any phone calls he gets from the coach, athletic director, or principal, that may come before he gets the completed "ejection" report.

He wants these late night phone calls even if there's not an ejection, he wants them any time something "odd" happens, again, so he's not blindsided the next morning by a surprise phone call while he's enjoying his morning coffee.

SC Official:

Why do I need to call the Principal? Because the OhioHSAA and the MichignHSAA requires it. The email is just a heads up that he or she is going to receive a phone call from me.

MTD, Sr.

That is what I get for not reading closely. :(

Still stupid, however.

You as the game official don't have to make contact with the principal/AD yourself, though. That is what I believe is stupid.

Paper Trail ...
 

Athletic Directors/Principals get my written report in less than twenty-four hours, through two intermediaries.

This is the protocol set up by the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) for all sports.

Official's Written "Ejection" Report » Official's Board/Association Designated Contact » Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) » Athletic Directors/Principals.

I believe that Board/Association Designated Contact step is skipped for soccer yellow cards and red cards.

We really don't see the CIAC protocol as a problem here, although I can't speak for other sports.

Great, that has nothing to do with my point. They get my reports in SC, too.

I'd Better Duck, It's Over My Head ...
 

Sorry. I apologize. I read it wrong. Mixed up what "That" referred to as being stupid. You're advocating against extraneous direct contact with athletic directors/principals, not the other way around.

https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.j...=0&w=236&h=152