never again

[mthomas]

Last year I stopped doing Adult Basketball League games. I asked myself why I was doing these games? Is it fun? NO. Is it worth the money? NO. Am I getting anything out of officiating the Adult Basketball League? NO. Do the players appreciate having officials? NO.

So for these reasons, I only officiate youth recreational basketball and school level games (varsity and below).

My last adult game last year ended this way: (long story made short)--During the 1st half, I ejected 1 fan, for swearing at me, threating me and pretending to throw the ball at me (the ball had gone out of bounds, to him).

I had given out a few warnings to the players during the game to "play basketball,not officiate." One team had only 5 players to start the game, early in the 4th quarter, I threw out 2 players from this team (after yelling at me about a call, swearing and trying to physically intimidate me). I stopped the game, delcaring a forfeit victory for the opposing team. Police were called after receving numerous threats from players, received a police escort out of the gym and all the way to the town line.

I do have lots of experience in officiating Adult Basketball League games. I also directed a Men's Basketball League for 11 years. It got so childish that if a player received a technical foul he was assessed a $25 fine on the spot, before he could play again. If he got ejected, he was suspended for the rest of the season. If any player received 3 technicals over the course of the season, he was suspended for the rest of the season. These policies cleaned up the league. I made sure that the officials knew that I was going to back them. But it should NEVER have to get to this point. Yes, you must run these programs and officiate these programs with an iron fist.