I was just wondering how you guys would handle this (or if there are specific rules regarding this).

In my daughter's game this weekend the opposing head coach yelled at least three racial slurs during the third quarter (three were audible to people from our team, who knows what else was said in their huddle). Two N bombs directed at the refs regarding our players and in one case he called our guard a monkey.

I know how these officials handled it, they T-ed him up a couple times and tossed him.

I was just wondering if this kind of crap happens very often in games that you guys work, and what you will do if you hear this kind of garbage?

I was also thinking of writing a letter to the school system to inform them of what kind of image this guy is giving their school. This is only a 7th grade team, and they were playing in a out of town independent of school tournament, so I'm not sure that they would necessarily find out about it, unless someone spoke up. We were an out of state, club team, playing a school team from their state, but in a different part of the state. Do you think this is a good idea or not?

By the way, I posted a question on here a month or so ago (as a first time poster) and have been returning to read your board from time to time. I really enjoy the angle I get by reading about basketball from the refs point of view.

Thanks alot,

Mike

I've never had this happen in any of my games. Sounds like a good ejection to me. I think a letter to the school would be appropriate. 7th grade kids shouldn't have to be subject to such ignorance and anger.

Z

That type of comment is a flagrant act and the only way to handle it is to eject the guilty party.

If I were a parent, and heard those kinds of things, you can bet I'd be writing a letter. I might even try to pressure the tournament organizer to write a letter or two, and to permanently ban the coach from any further participation in that tourney.

As a ref, I'd have tossed him on the first one, and seen to it that he got kicked out of the tournament. I can't believe the refs in your sitch let him get to three of these kinds of statements.

We don't get a lot of this stuff around here, at least not that egregious. I've had a couple of coaches talk about "playing the race card" a time or two, but I usually put a stop to that kind of talk pretty quickly.

We are always glad to have fans/parents see things from our point of view -- it happens very rarely!!

Amen Rainmaker! He wpould have never have gotten the second slur out of his puss, I would've run da' bum!

Definitely write the letter, to both the principal of the school and to the superintendent or whomever is the head honcho in that area. And make sure that the principal knows that his boss has been CC'd on it.

DO contact the school. They can't do anything if they are not aware. They will appreciate knowing about this guy's behavior. Being crude is one thing and using racial slurs is quite different. This guy needs to correct his behavior ASAP or not be around kids.

I'd call the principal and also send a letter to verify that you contacted him. "This letter is a follow-up to our conversation of ..... so that you have a record of what happened with that coach." The letter is just in case the principal is of the old school where you ignore such incidents. That way you are covered and can show (keep a copy of the letter) that you reported the incident. The principal should be aware that this is a serious situation and that he is required to deal with it.

As a former principal, I know that I would have appreciated knowing what took place.

Agree with all of the above. The guy should not be coaching. Write the letter.

As a current high school administrator I would want to know. Send the letter.

FWIW In our association we are not allowed to contact the school directly, we must go through our commissioner.

Send the letter certified with return receipt requested. There is no place for that kind of behavior. Bravo for the officials getting rid of the guy. And if there was no assistant coach then it should also have been a forfeit. You can bet if the team had no more games that there would be some pretty worked up parents on THAT side of the ledger as well.

I personally do not know what writing a letter is going to do. If the coach was ejected from the game, I am sure the tournament director or officials are aware of why there was an ejection. Someone is going to know why on some level why there was an ejection. An ejection like this is not likely going to be something no one is going to be unaware of. Writing a letter could not hurt, just understand that it might turn into a he said, she said situation.

Peace

It may well. However useful things that may still be accomplished. First, even if the coach talks his way out of it, if he's got half a brain, he's a lot more likely be behave himself in the future. Second, the coach's behavior in this incident may be part of a larger pattern. If this isn't the first letter the school has received, it'll make more of a difference. If it is the first letter, it may turn out to be the first of many to come.

The original post-er was watching as a parent, not a ref. A ref should follow whatever protocol is prescribed. Even so, in this area, a lot of these junior high tournaments aren't assigned by our association, and a ref would have no one to report this to, if not directly to the school. In this case, I think it would be critical that a ref not shrug it off, but be certain that the "higher-up" folks are aware of the situation.

Either way it still might not matter. The poster wants to know what we think. The reality is writing a letter is not an automatic problem solver for this kind of situation. It is possible that the school administrators might not even take heed to the information. Not all administration members are competent or use the best judgment. You might need independent evidence to prove that is what actually took place. Now the ejection will help, but I have known these situations not to be accepted so easily by school administration. Of course it is worth a try; just do not be surprised if the information is not accepted. You never know what relationship this guy has with his administration. For all you know he might be apart of that administration. We have HS that have nicknames that are offensive to people all over this country. You think one coach using an offensive name is going to automatically make a difference?

Peace