Overweight Refs

[26 Year Gap]

One thing I DON"T do is my Curly Neal impression at halftime. [or ANYtime.]

[Snake~eyes]

Every physical attribute affects your credibility. Height, glasses, facial hair, head hair, skin color, build ect.

Including weight.

[IREFU2]

Originally posted by lmeadski
This may seem immaterial to most of us, but, does an overweight ref instantly harm his/her credibility? We talk about appearances (all black shoes, pants with no loops, etc.) and how much that matters. Does the stretching of the stripes put a doubt in player's/coach's/fan's minds that we might not be up to the task? We use the analogy of fat/overweight = lazy/not on top of game in many other ways. Does it apply to us? Much is said of Ed Hoculie (sp?) and what a great NFL ref he is. Does he gain some extra cred because he looks the role (see this months piece in SI about him...)?

[Edited by lmeadski on Jan 16th, 2006 at 01:00 PM]

Our Commisioner on our board made the statement in the beginning of the year that if you are overweight, you will not get AAA Boys Varsity Games. Needless to say, it sidelined a bunch of officials and open the doors for more!

[zebraman]

Originally posted by IREFU2

Our Commisioner on our board made the statement in the beginning of the year that if you are overweight, you will not get AAA Boys Varsity Games. Needless to say, it sidelined a bunch of officials and open the doors for more!

What was the criteria for being overweight? Who decided who was overweight?

Wow, that's a pretty subjective decision for one person to make. I can think of a couple officials in my local association who are a little overweight but I would "go to war" with them for any game at any level. Other officials are fit as a fiddle, but are not nearly as strong on the court.

Doesn't your group have a ratings system that incorporates MANY criteria (possibly including weight) to evaluate an official's ability? This sounds like a person who has given runaway power. Isn't there a board of directors to keep him/her in check?

If you exclude an official on weight alone, where do you stop? Are you going to keep AAA boys games from officials with glasses? Officials who are over a certain age? Isn't it supposed to be about ability? Why would you penalize an overweight official who is darn good and has made up for his weight by being so good in many other areas?

Z

[hooper]

I wonder at what point this becomes discrimination and can be legally prosecuted?

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by hooper
I wonder at what point this becomes discrimination and can be legally prosecuted?

I have read that NBA officials have target weights they have to maintain. Perhaps things work differently if you are an employee of the league with a collective bargaining agreement than if you're an independent contractor, but I would think you'd have a hard time making any case if you're an independent contractor who was not given a contract because the group or person giving the contract judged you unfit for the job.

[hooper]

I guess it's all in how you define "unfit."

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by hooper
I wonder at what point this becomes discrimination and can be legally prosecuted?

I do not think the issue is whether or not you are getting games. The issue is whether how you are being judged. We can all be judged by whatever reason someone comes up with. You cannot legislate why people want to judge you or not. If a coach, assignor, fan thinks you are too fat to get up and down the court that is up that coach, fan, and assignor to think that way. It might not be fair, but if you go into a bar and see a girl that you think is pretty, no one can tell you that you have to talk to the ugly girl. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So what is considered fat or overweight is very subjective. After all we are doing something where we have to keep up. It is not like we are sitting in a chair and doing mathematical equations. We are running after kids that are many times more than half our ages and we need to show we can keep up with them consistently. Players are judged on their physical ability, why should we be any different?

Peace

[tomegun]

Originally posted by refTN
Case and point. There is no ref in the NBA that even remotely looks overweight. Personally I would like to be taller, but that is actually one aspect I can't control(6 ft. by the way).

WRONG, his name is Blane or something like that and although he has been in the league for about twenty some years, I just noticed him about 3 or 4 years ago. He also just worked his first playoff about that time. Now that I think of it, I haven't seen him this year.

[tomegun]

Originally posted by hooper
I wonder at what point this becomes discrimination and can be legally prosecuted?

I'm not a lawyer by a long shot, but isn't this sort of like the communities where you have to be 50 years old? Their rational is everyone will eventually be 50. Maybe that doesn't add up, but wouldn't someone have to prove their weight isn't a factor in their performance.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally posted by tomegun
WRONG, his name is Blane or something like that and although he has been in the league for about twenty some years, I just noticed him about 3 or 4 years ago. He also just worked his first playoff about that time. Now that I think of it, I haven't seen him this year.

Blaine Reichalt (sp?), #37

I think he's a decent ref actually. But boy, does he ever have a wierd body shape.

I think the shape is called "blaine", because quite possibly nobody else has that shape.

[LarryS]

As an overweight official myself...sure it probably matters and impacts my schedule. I was recently talking about schedules with another chapter member before our last meeting. I told him that I figured the factors that impacted my schedule were;

1) Assignment secretary did not have many chances to see me work (and I have not had a formal evaluation during a game in the 2 years since I returned to the chapter). These are primarily because I came back last year after all the local camps were over and only was able to work 1 scrimmage and the chapter is in bad need of people to evaluate. Last summer, I went to the local camps but he was sick once and just did not get a chance to watch more that one half of one of my games at the other camp.

2) Weight. But I have lost just over 10% of my start of the season weight...so I'm getting there.

3) Becasue of my real job, I had to turn back the 2 sxrimmages I was scheduled to work before the season and two games right after the season started. On all but one of the games, it was at the last minute because mt bosses boss told us we had to work at the last minute.

Since the assignment secretary also calls games, numbers 1 and 3 are out of my control. I just work the games I am given, will continue to lose weight until I get to where I want to be and hope for more exposure next summer during camps. Last year I received 4 varsity (very small schools) and medium sized schools JV. This year I have had 5 medium sized school varsity and large school JV...just fewer games.

Guess in a way, he considers it a move up. Doesn't matter a lot to me...I just do it because I enjoy it.

[IREFU2]

Originally posted by zebraman

What was the criteria for being overweight? Who decided who was overweight?

Wow, that's a pretty subjective decision for one person to make. I can think of a couple officials in my local association who are a little overweight but I would "go to war" with them for any game at any level. Other officials are fit as a fiddle, but are not nearly as strong on the court.

Doesn't your group have a ratings system that incorporates MANY criteria (possibly including weight) to evaluate an official's ability? This sounds like a person who has given runaway power. Isn't there a board of directors to keep him/her in check?

If you exclude an official on weight alone, where do you stop? Are you going to keep AAA boys games from officials with glasses? Officials who are over a certain age? Isn't it supposed to be about ability? Why would you penalize an overweight official who is darn good and has made up for his weight by being so good in many other areas?

Z

The criteria was stomaches hanging over belts as well the ability to get up and down the court. We do have an evaluation system and that is on the evaluation too. All I can say is that nobody confronted him about it.

[JCrow]

My son and I were watching the Movie "Office Space" years ago. He said,

"Gee Dad....you look like that guy Milton."

Sad but true. Overweight, glasses and not too bright looking.

However, I do ALWAYS show up on time. I played the game until I was 52, know the Rules and I Ref & Coach for free at our Y League in town. The "free and on time" are key factors in my success.

Personally, I try not to judge any person on their appearance too much. I've seen too many "Ted Bundy" looking Refs that were awful. This Post reveals a lot of shallowness about our Society. No wonder so many women develop negative self-esteem based on body shape. To prove my point, what if we elected Politicians based on "appearance" rather than skill & ability.....Oops......

[tomegun]

You didn't know this kind of thinking existed? I feel sorry for you because this is just a very, very, very small example in out society. I'm not even sure this subject could be considered shallow since weight can hamper performance, in many cases.