Referee with "rabbit ears"

[dan74]

Originally Posted by dkmz17

Don't need to, the principal of the school was present at the game. By the same token, if the local referee assignor was present, then my "letter" should not be needed. Also, I now recognize that I overstated my intent. Really, what I want is to make sure that the assignor, or the local AD's are aware of the referee's behavior.

Question - if the ref's behavior was inappropirate or his grasp of the rules is deficient, does the assignor simply no use him/her unless absolutely necessary or do they receive some type of remediation/counseling?

Rookie official perspective...one who has coached various sports for many years and also watched my kids play:

First, the principal was in attendance, as you said. He/she, as a school official, should be the person who decides whether to notify any assignor's or other schools. Unless you're a school official or have seen this official enough times to create a history indicating improper rules interpretation and behavior, I don't think it's your place to report anything based on one incident.

Second, people make mistakes, including officials. My guess is both the official and coach reflected on the game that evening and considered whether their actions were appropriate. Most people don't like to loose their cool. Most people don't like being criticized as being incompetent or unsatisfactory. It's quite possible the coach will learn to keep from getting personal, and possible the official will strive to better learn/apply the rules, and possibly better personal management skills.

Third, as a person who in my younger years wasn't very tolerant of disrespect, without challenging the disrespect in various manners, I can somewhat identify with the official. Put yourself in his shoes. He's likely been through a year of negative comments about his ability and judgment...sounds like all of it may have come to a head. It's almost like fans feel they can be as angry as they want with an official because the official isn't going to come after them. Some coaches push it pretty far too.

Bottom line...the decision to take any action against the official is for school officials to make, and they already know. If they do, they should also take action against the coach. IMO your role with this is done...don't get any more caught up in something that isn't necessarily your concern.

By the way, I've got to go call a game...I'm not going to snap, but I might give one or two "stop signs" and "the stare."