Rules stickler

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by SMEngmann
The thing about the coach/ref line is that it is essentially baiting a technical. It could be seen as a zinger in which any response gets the T. On the "travel" every time up the court, the best response I have used it basically, "Not on every call" or something to that effect. If the coach is interested in reasonable dialogue, I might ask him what he's seeing that I'm not so I have something specific to look for and he knows that I'm hearing him. Of course most guys who whine about every call/no call are not interested in reasonable dialogue. Personally I wouldn't use the coach/ref line because if I do have a T, my assignor could say that I baited that T, or could've handled it differently. Just doesn't look good IMHO.

We can agree to disagree. When I tell a coach, "You're not going to officiate and I'm not going to coach," the message is, "I've heard enough." It's not baiting him into anything IMHO. What I've said is nowhere near as abusive as what the coach has been barking. There comes a time when enough is enough.