Coach wants to argue...

[rgncjn]

BJV, 4th quarter, 7:00 to play, Team A losing by 20

A1 is dribbling in his backcourt and is under defensive pressure by B1. A1 throws a pass in the direction of A2. A2 jumps from the frontcourt, catches the pass, and lands in the backcourt.

I call the BC violation. A1 quickly questions the call and says "I was never across the line!" Coach A comes out yelling (has not said a word to either official during the game) saying it was not a BC violation. I explain that A2 had frontcourt status when he jumped, and the ball subsequently gained FC status when it was caught by A2, then they landed in the BC, causing the violation.

Coach A did not want to buy into this explanation and loudly yells, "that is bulls**t, rgncjn. He earned a technical foul and the game proceeded uneventfully.

After the game, and just sitting in the locker room, we heard a knock on the door. Coach A asked if he could have a minute of my time. He first apologized for his behavior, and then showed me his dry-erase board that was sketched with the play. He goes on and on about the ball never having "established three points in the FC" so there could not be a violation. I explained the location of the rule in the book for his reference. He says, "You're wrong" and storms away.

When the varsity officials took the floor for the pregame (they knew the situation after wanting to know why the coach was yelling at me in the hall way), Coach A comes over and asks them if it was a BC violation. Coach A decided to change the play around and tell the varsity crew that A2 landed in the BC before catching the pass. The varsity crew told him that was not a BC violation, but the play that I described was a violation. Satisfied that he was correct, Coach A went into the stands and yelled to his fans, "I was right! That official did not know the rule!"