When to step in?

[SMEngmann]

Originally posted by hooper
Here's a situation I saw recently in a junior high game:

Team A's coach and fans are riding the refs throughout the first half. In the second half, the ref addresses the fans about their behavior. Moments later, ref calls a foul on Team B and Team A's coach says "That's it. Fouled out!" The scorer's table says no, one more foul before fouling out. (Scorer's table is run by parents and volunteers from home team, which is Team B.) Coach approaches scorer's table and begins to argue. Fan (and relative of scorekeeper) from Team B comes to aid of scorekeepers. Team A's coach gets up into Team B's fan's face and says he'll see him in the parking lot after the game. Refs ignore and continue game.

What would you have done?

I'm telling them both that they can see each other in the parking lot right now and charging Coach A with a flagrant technical foul, assuming all of this happens before I intervene. I would have the fan removed as well. There was already a warning to the fans, no need for another (one is too many in my book). There is no excuse for a coach to not only leave his bench and go to the table, but also to berate the scorekeeper and threaten a fan, albeit one who left the stands, given how vocal he had been, he's gone.

Now, assuming I was where I was supposed to be when reporting a foul (at the table), I would've immediately whacked Coach A for his actions to the table and walked him back to his bench, explaining to him that I would confer with the scorer, and/or his book to check on the foul situation, which I would then do. If there had to be a change, I would bring both coaches together to explain the change, if not, I would verify to Coach A that the book was indeed correct. If the fan at that point came out of the stands, he'd be gone on the spot.

Once the conflict escalated, I think anything less than 2 ejections demonstrates a lack of game control. The coach and the fans had been problems all night, this is the perfect chance to rein them in and regain control of the game.