Favoring one team or another

[rainmaker]

This next question is totally unrelated to any experience I have had yet, but it did occur to me the other night, as I was thinking some things over. Have any of you ever been approached about "throwing" a game, or favoring one team? Do you know of anyone who has? How was it handled?

Obviously, if I thought my partner was on the take, I'd report it, without any hesitation. But, what should I do if I think my partner is favoring one team? I'm not talking here about deliberately throwing the game, but just indulging his/her preferences? I'm leaving this as a hypothetical, since I don't want it to appear to be directed at one person (although I do have one person in mind). Should I not even be looking? Should I try to talk to him/her? Should I tattle?

[BigDave]

This is something that is out of our control. If this were to happen, and we questioned it, what justification could we possibly use to prove it? The "favoring" official could always come back with "Are you questioning my judgment?".

The only way I would get involved is if it were a good friend of mine. I'd approach him/her and voice my opinion on a few situations I saw and see what kind of reaction I get. Then go from there.

Anyway you look at it, it's a tough spot to be in.

[Tim Roden]

The way I have seen it handled is by talking to my partner at a break and say somthing like, "We have to find something the other way, Coach A thinks he is getting screwed."

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by rainmaker


I'm leaving this as a hypothetical, since I don't want it to appear to be directed at one person (although I do have one person in mind).

Juulie - I know you're not talking about me, since my reputation is that I am always biased against BOTH teams

I have worked games where I thought this might be the case. However, in analyzing one of those games, I realized that my partner was calling an extremely tight game under the basket and because of the way the game progressed, he was lead when one of the teams was on offense an inordinate amount of time. So it wasn't bias, just coincidence. I knew this because in subsequent games we worked, his calls were just as tight (way too tight by anyone's standards) but the amount of time he was lead for either team was close to even, so both teams got their share of foul calls.

In the cases where I thought there was actual bias by partners, I must confess I have not confronted them about it. One thing I DO NOT do is try to "even things up."

Maybe if I see you this weekend, you can tell me who it is. I'm not saying this because I like gossip, but perhaps it is someone about whom I also have had suspicions.

[Oz Referee]

I have been asked to influence the result of a game by a coach. It wasn't quite as balck and white (if you'll pardon the pun) as him saying "Here if you help us win, I'll give you x y and z". But the night before the game I say him at the local stadium where I was refereeing and he suggested that without my "help" it would be difficult for his team to compete, and that my "help" would be reciprocated.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night. I refered the game (and his team won). However, that morning I spoke to several members of the association about the coach and his "suggestion". I was informed that the best course of action was, immediately after the game, to cite the coach for "bringing the game into disrepute" as well as "conduct unbecoming/unsportsmanlike action".

About a week later the coach fronted the associations judiciary. He vigarously denined the charge and said that he had been joking, I had misintepreted his comments etc. The panel agreed that without a witness it was impossible to prove one way or another. However, they did find that there was enough doubt over his actions that he was removed from the head coaches position, and he became the assistant.

At the end of that season he quit representative basketball, and I haven't seen or heard of him for 5 years now.

A real sticky situation!

[Mark Padgett]

The only comment I have is that I would have reported it prior to the game, if possible. In fact, if you did this, you may have had the opportunity to "set him up" by bringing the other official into it to "cooperate" also. Then you would have had a witness.

[rainmaker]

Oz Ref --

Wow!! I appreciate your candor, and it sounds like you handled it about right. Thanks for your story.

juulie