Player Down - Rule and Your Philosophy

[Mwanr1]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Yabut...I've also been answering complaints about officials long enough to know what I can get away with also. And lying is never a part of that explanation.

If your personal "common sense" happens to go directly against a plainly written rule, how then am I, say as your supervisor, going to be able to explain away your "common sense" when I get one of those irate post-game phone calls or e-mails? Do you really think that a league is going to accept an explanation that it was OK for an official to ignore that plainly written rule because he didn't think it was "fair"?

If the official cannot exercise good judgment, then YOU, as the SUPERVISOR, should not permit that official to officiate a basketball game -PERIOD! Rules are black and white, but officiating isn't. I don't think anyone of us here can truly say they have followed every single rules in the rulebook. Just think of the last time you exercise your personal "common sense" to pass up on a 3-sec violation.