Did a mens league game the other day and this is the first thing a player told me when he showed up to the game . I should have left at that point .
5 minutes into the game there is a foul on the free throw line extended (About 5-6 feet away from the key). My partner goes to the sideline to put the ball in after he called a foul (We only switch on shooting fouls or if we find ourselves on the same side too long) and the "ref" starts telling him the ball should be taken out on the baseline . My partner looks at me I shake my head and my partner attempts to give the ball to the player again and the "ref" says real loud that the ball should be taken out on the baseline . My partner looks a little confused so I blow my whistle step out towards my partner and tell him to put the ball in play from where he is . The "ref" gripes a little more but we play on .
At half time the "ref" proceeds to demonstrate physically where the ball is taken out on the endline when a foul or violation is committed and backs this up by saying "All fouls committed inside the arc and below the foul line are taken out on the endline" . I just smile and tell him that statement is incorrect and I have the rule book in my car and we can look at it after the game . My partner then proceeds to tell me that this guys refs a lot of his games (My partner is a Varsity coach as well as reffing in the off season) and is very knowledgable . I smile again and tell him that may be so but he is wrong here .
35 seconds left and the "refs" team (Team A) is up by 2 and is getting ready to inbound the ball after a basket by team B . Team A inbounds the ball and is fouled in the paint right away (In their backcourt) so the ball goes back to the endline . After a timeout the "ref" comes to take out the ball and says "I still retain the right to run the endline...right ?" I look at him really funny and say "sure you can run the baseline....but I will call you for the violation" . He then tells me that I am wrong and that he can run the baseline and I really don't know the rules . I will be honest and say that I was so shocked by this whole conversation I didn't even T him up or say anything for that matter .
After the game I asked him if he was serious about what he had said about running the baseline and he told me he was dead serious and if I ever wanted to becaome a varsity official like him I should read the rule book .

Long story but a true one.....I am still shocked bythis whole conversation and I can't wait to see him again so we can have some more insightful referee discussions...I think I have found my mentor !

I hate to say it, but I don't get it. What was the first thing he said?


I'm glad you didn't T him, b/c you gave him a smart*** answer. I realize you did it b/c you thought he was joking, but snappy answers often end up biting you on the butt.

Chuck's right, one I have no clue what he said or what thefour scariest words are. Two, you gave him a SA response.

And the four words were................?

I like your fishnets.

Did the player get fouled right before he caught it or did he with no doubt have possession of it when he got fouled?

It is always good to find a mentor. They are a great help.

He probably said, "I am a ref."

Way to stick to your guns, Weekend. I hope he apologizes when the time comes that he is proven wrong.

Come to think of it, construct your discussion to earn a pint out of it.

When the red eases from his face, tell him that if wishes to be a knowledgeable ref like you are, he should read the rule book. :D

Almost all of the games in which I had major problems were intramural games where one team was comprised entirely of staff memebers/referees.

Worst game ever was a flag football game pitting the refs (my co-workers) against the chemistry department (my peers and TA's). :rolleyes:

How can he be criticized for a smart answer when there are threads on this board that basically exchange smart answers for players and coaches?

The same way I would be criticized for telling off-color ethnic jokes in public, even tho I tell them in private with my buddies and we all laugh.

The smart-aleck stuff that gets posted here is not used on the court by 99.99% of officials. (The 0.01% is comprised entirely of Mark Padgett :) ). It's ok to joke about the stuff we'd like to say, or wish we'd said. But in real life, those comments generally make a situation worse rather than better; and that's what happened in the original post.

Just my opinion, as always.

oops....left out some vital info
 

Sorry about that.....the first thing he said to me when he came in the gym was "I am a ref"
I don't think it was a smart a$$ answer at all . This was a referee asking me something that should be common knowledge for a referee . I actually thought he was testing me....but he wasn't .
If this was a High School game I would have told the player that it was a spot throw in and he could not run the line .
I thought my answer to his question was fair and thinking back on it I would say the same thing again .

A few weeks ago I was working a weekend tournament that had some pretty good teams come into town. During one game, the head coach really started whining and begging for calls. Most of which was ignored until he said "I'm a ref". At that point, I told him that because he's a ref, he'll understand this call...WHACK!

He deserved it, he got it and the rest of the game was smooth like butter.

???
 

Chuck ,
You are comparing telling off color jokes to your buddies in private to saying "you can run the baseline but I will call a violation" ??
I understand what you are saying which is basically we should keep our favorite comebacks to ourselves ( and to this board) but I think you are wrong in this instance .

I did not say "That is a stupid freaking question and if you are actually a referee then you must be sleeping with the assignor to get any games at all because you obviously have no freaking idea what you are talking about" .
I would consider that a smart a$$ answer even if that is exactly what I was thinking !
Also keep in mind this was a Men's league game....

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