In the NAIA Tournament, DuJuan Brown from Oklahoma Baptist University shot and made a three point FG. The official gave the signal for the made 3-pointer, When Brown went past the official, he gave him a "high-five." The official called a technical foul which happened to be Brown's fifth. There were nine minutes left in the game. OBU won the game and are playing tonight in the championship.
How would you have responded to this situation?

I may have smiled and then wondered if the fans thought that I was his best friend.
mick

That referee needs to reassess why he is in the sport of officiating.

And it probably wouldn't hurt to lighten up a little and enjoy the moment.

Except for the technical foul, this is just an example of life imitating the movies. Remember the scene in the Billy Cyrstal movie where he plays an NBA official, and a player makes a "triple" and gives Crystal the "high five" while signaling a successful three-pointer.

In the NFL.
 

This happen either this past year or the year before in the NFL. A referee signaled a touchdown and the reciever (from NY Giants I believe) made a spectacular catch. The reciever comes up and gives the official a high five. The official smiled and kept signaling. He seemed to get a kick out of it too.

I think this ref should have done the same. If he did not like it, he could have said something to him on the "DL." I know I was not there and do not like to critizise officials in public, but I think he need to relax. This is a game, we should be able to have some fun.

Peace

I agree with you JR. When my sons and I are shooting hoops in the driveway, and one of them make a long one, I signal a "three" and they come up and "high 5" me.

When my kids do that, I give them a T and send them to bed without dinner. ;)

In the original situation, I think the ref was in a tough spot. If he doesn nothing, then some fan is writing in about how the refs obviously were biased and even high-fived a player to congratulate him. IF he T's, he gets raked over the coals as being an OOO.

My suggestion, look sternly at the player who gave him the high-five -- maybe even yell how that wasn't appropriate. Make sure the other team knows that you don't condone it -- but don't penalize.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bob jenkins

Quote:

IF he T's, he gets raked over the coals as being an OOO.

Ok, I'll bite. . . Over-Officious Opportunist? Originally-Ornery Orangutan?

I give up! :eek:

Chuck

Who cares what the fans think. Let the player slap you a high five. I have players tap me on the butt or point at me and say good call when they know I caught them doing something wrong. "Good call Ref."

I would lighten up some here. Laugh it off and enjoy the moment of the game. Maybe at a deadball tell explain to him he cannot do that because the other team and coach might think differently about it. And maybe even during a dead ball 2 shot foul when in front of the other team's coach tell him/her that I told the player not to do that again, just so the coach knows you actually responded to the situation. A Technical is not always the appropriate penalty. There are many other responses we can use in situations such as these.

We are constantly told that we are communicators. I would ask what the official communicated by the T? We can communicate that we enjoy being out there and want to help the game a lot better by smiling and as mentioned, in an appropriate way, tell the player about perception from others and to not high five us. Come on, the player was excited and having a good time and I doubt that he was thinking about what others might think of his high five.

Being a young guy who enjoys officiating every game I have a question? Isn' this what an official should live for, getting to be part of the show? I think this is a time when you should have a big smile on your face and remember why we officiate the game of basketball.

iref21,
Sure, have fun and smile at the appropriate time, but maintain that professional posture with dignity and composure... and keep all your conversations polite and very brief.
mick

Nope, we ain't part of the show. This happened to a partner
of mine and he pointed at the player and said "You just play
your damn game and keep me out of it!" Wiped the smile
right off the kids face, he spent the next 10 minutes
apologizing to both of us.

I wasn't going to respond to this situation, but I couldn't help myself. I think the T was way out of line. I like to see officials having fun out on the floor. The robotic ones who have scowls on their faces all of the time need to lighten up. Unlike what coaches and parents think, it is a game. Players and coaches as well as officials need to have fun. When it ceases to be fun, I will stay home. If I think I miss the money I will get a part time job.

we are people!!!
 

Joe, I couldn't agree with you more. I truly beleive that one of the reasons refs get such a bad rap is because we try to remain TOO professional, and TOO impersonal. When I am out on the floor, I love talking to players AT THE APROPRIATE TIME. I smile, laugh, and have fun with everyone out there-it certainly eases the tension between myself and the players.

We need to remember that the players are our first priority-we need to let them play without our interference, but we need to let them know that there are 2 or 3 other people on the floor that are just as human as they are.