|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 02:57am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Boys varsity game, visiting team has a player who is visibly hobbling on the court and clearly in a bit of pain (he's practically hopping on one leg up and down the court). I approached him a couple of times asking him if he's OK, he said yes, but I wasn't convinced. When I was inbounding the ball in front of his team's bench, I told the coach, "Are you sure #11's OK, he's noticably limping and hobbling up and down the court and I think he could be hurt." Coach says, "Yeah he's fine, it's just the tape," or some similarly hasty explanation.
My question is basically, what more can I do in this situation? I asked the player and informed the coach who willingly chose to play an injured player and continue playing him. The rules only cover if the player is unconscious, but from a legal standpoint, I need to be able to protect myself in situations like this. What do you suggest should be the proper course of action here? Should I send a game report at least to my assignor? I appreciate any feedback. 
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 04:18am
|
|||
|
|||
|
About the only thing else you could do was maybe add a whistle into the mix, to make it clear that you were inquiring about the player's well being.
Kinda hard to file legal action if you have witnesses and it's on tape.
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 04:41am
|
|||
|
|||
|
I'm glad you asked because many officials don't seem to know this, but it is up to the official to decide that the player is injured, not the coach or player himself. Here's a good rule to support that:
3-3-5 . . . A player who has been injured to the extent that the coach or any other bench personnel is beckoned and/or comes onto the court shall be directed to leave the game, unless a time-out is requested by, and granted to, his/her team and the situation can be corrected by the end of the time-out. Who decides when to beckon a coach or other bench personnel onto the floor? The official. Does it matter whether or not they comply? Nope. Once the official has decided in his mind that that player is injured to the extent that someone from the bench needs to come onto the floor to assist him, the decision is made and 3-3-5 applies. Even if the team takes a time-out, it is still up to the judgment of the official whether or not the player is ready to continue at the end of the time-out. If the official decides that he is not, then the team can take another time-out or replace that player. The #1 issue on the court is the safety of the student athletes. It's not getting the rules right, who wins, or whether the spectators enjoy themselves. Your primary job is to protect the kids. If you believe anything else then you shouldn't be officiating high school sports. Therefore, if I don't believe that the kid is healthy enough to participate, I stop the game and beckon bench personnel onto the court, then direct the player to leave the game, barring a time-out request. Never let the coach or the kid make this decision for you. If there is anything that you could possibly be taken to court over and actually lose, it would be a situation in which you thought the player was hurt, but allowed him to continue at the risk of further injury because the coach or player to told you otherwise. I will never put myself in that position.
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 07:31am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
The kid is hobbling. He ain't gonna die from a sore leg. It's up to the player and the coach to decide whether he's well enough to play. If the player and coach tell me he's OK after I inquire, that's good enough for me. What are you gonna do, Nevada, if the coach does give you a TO request to try and keep his player in the game? Refuse the request and say the kid has to leave? I'd check this philosophy with your association executive or someone from your state body. I'm not sure that you'd get backing from them if you ever pulled that stunt. I know and guarantee that they will be contacted by that coach/school/league if you ever do call that one. How do you answer something like "My player had a sprained ankle. His doctor cleared him to play but the referee wouldn't allow him to try it." Shudder.
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 08:29am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
The kid is hobbling. He ain't gonna die from a sore leg. It's up to the player and the coach to decide whether he's well enough to play. If the player and coach tell me he's OK after I inquire, that's good enough for me. What are you gonna do, Nevada, if the coach does give you a TO request to try and keep his player in the game? Refuse the request and say the kid has to leave? I'd check this philosophy with your association executive or someone from your state body. I'm not sure that you'd get backing from them if you ever pulled that stunt. I know and guarantee that they will be contacted by that coach/school/league if you ever do call that one. How do you answer something like "My player had a sprained ankle. His doctor cleared him to play but the referee wouldn't allow him to try it." Shudder. [/B][/QUOTE] JR, I hope that my choice of words didn't give you the wrong impression of how I would handle this situation. I used the word barring in the following sense: Main Entry: bar·ring Pronunciation: 'bär-i[ng] Function: preposition : excluding by exception : EXCEPTING Perhaps I should have just written excepting a TO request. I would certainly grant the requested TO, but the kid still needs to be physically able to continue IN MY MIND at the end of that TO or I am not going to allow him to remain in the contest. To respond to your method of handling it (that if the coach/player tells you the kid is ok that is good enough for you), I do consider their input, but I am going a step further and making the final decision. Just because they say he is ok is NOT good enough for me. I will watch the kid's actions and movements. If I'm not convinced that he can physically compete, then he's going to sit whether the coach likes it or not. Now when I say physically healthy, I'm talking about more than a tweaked ankle or sprained/banged knee. A person can tell when someone who took a knock is going to be able to play through it. I'm far more concerned with the kid who looks very pale or has shortness of breath, but it could be something physical too. I'll give you an example from a game I had this summer. A girl got poked in the eye during rebounding action. The game continued and she ran down the court and stood in the lane to play defense. While the opponent was running their offense, I noticed that she had one eye closed and in response to a teammate instructing her to switch who she was guarding, this girl replied, "I can't see." Tweet... right then and there. I didn't care where the bal was. To me that was clearly a safety issue. I cannot have a player on the court who admits that she can't see. Even if it is only out of one eye. Someone or the ball could strike her from that side and she would not have the normal reflexive protective reaction. I can hear the attorney now, "You heard her say that she couldn't see and didn't stop the game?" The coach in fact did give me a hard time about sending his player out. I told him that it was a safety issue and what I had heard her say. He still wasn't convinced until I said in definite earshot of many parents, "Coach, look at her eye. She can't keep it open. Now this is somebody's daughter, do the right thing for her and give me a sub or I'm ending this game." He sent in a replacement. Later he apologized to me and said that he was caught up in the moment. When it comes down to it, this is not professional sports; these are just kids. Often these youngsters push themselves too hard due to pride or peer/parental pressure. Sometimes their coaches drive them beyond their limits out of a desire to win. I'm all for challenging and motivating a kid, but I'm not about to have one drop on the court while I'm officiating. So the bottom line is that if I am ever genuinely concerned for a player's health, I'm stopping that game and getting the kid some assistance. If that means the player has to leave the contest, so be it.
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 08:49am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
[/B][/QUOTE] If I'm not convinced that he can physically compete, then he's going to sit whether the coach likes it or not. I'm far more concerned with the kid who looks very pale or has shortness of breath, but it could be something physical too. While the opponent was running their offense, I noticed that she had one eye closed and in response to a teammate instructing her to switch who she was guarding, this girl replied, "I can't see." [/B][/QUOTE]I picked just a few of your statements out, which usually is the wrong thing to do, but I wanted to respond to them. You're changing oars in mid-stream now imo. If it's any type of head/eye injury or any chance that it could be a possible life-threatening problem like heart/breathing, then I agree with you. I'm gonna err on the cautious side too. However, you were talking about a player "hobbling". Not being able to "physically compete" because a player is "hobbling" is just none of our damn business as officials. That ain't our decision and rightfully so. Any limb problem- arm, leg, foot, hand- is up to the coach/trainer/team doctor-- not us, unless there's a bone sticking out. Personally, I can't think of any possible way to respond if someone asked me post-game why I wouldn't let a kid play that was limping. I don't know about Nevada, but around here that might be a CI call- career inhibiting. Jmo, Nevada, but in this one you're getting involved in an area that you never should be involved in.
|
|
Fri Dec 16, 2005, 09:17am
|
|||
|
|||
|
Clearly, I'm glad to hear the we are in agreement on the big stuff. There have been too many athletes dying in the past few years while competing. You've seen the same news stories.
However, you're right that I took a much smaller issue and extended it. So, I'm going go back to some very specific comments in the original post and give my thoughts. "player who is visibly hobbling on the court and clearly in a bit of pain (he's practically hopping on one leg up and down the court" If he is hopping on one leg and can't run, I'm stopping the game within the provisions of 5-8-2 NOTE. I'm going to have a quick word with him, but I am going to make the determination of whether not he is "injured." If he can jog or "run it off" after a few seconds, then I'm not going to direct him to leave. "he [the player] said yes, but I wasn't convinced" If I'm not convinced, then the coach/trainer is getting beckoned onto the court. Now the kid is going to get some assistance and short break whether that comes from a substitution or a time-out. "My question is basically, what more can I do in this situation?" "the coach who willingly chose to play an injured player" He now asked what else could he have done with this kid who in his words is "an injured player." I'm advising him to stop the game and beckon the coach onto the floor. As I said above, that gets the kid a moment. Perhaps that is all he needs to convince you that he is not injured, but only has some minor temporary problem, but it sounds like you had a genuine concern. At the minimum, I believe you should stop the action. If the coach isn't using good judgment in looking out for the safety of a kid, then I am of the opinion that as another adult and in my role as a game official, I should. I'm not allowing an injured player to participate. Who decides if the kid is injured? My answer is the official, not the player, not the coach. It is their job to aleviate my concerns for the kid. As I wrote above player safety is the #1 issue. That's just my opinion. Take from it what you wish. [Edited by Nevadaref on Dec 16th, 2005 at 09:20 AM]
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
|
|
Linear Mode
