Ma officials??
 

Any one have an update on the PGHS? Last I heard we were waiting on a court injunction. Is it going to be a pre-game handshake? are we staying? not staying?
thanks for any info.

About a week and a half ago, our board was told the issue was supposed to go before a judge "in about 2 weeks". Supposed to be resolved before the season starts...but then again, we were told it was supposed to be resolved before the start of the season last year too. I'm not holding my breath.

this was just passed on from our board:

Be sure to adhere to the protocols listed on the MIAA website.

Greet the Site Administrator and be escorted to the locker room.
Remind him/her that you expect him/her to be present during the handshake.
Perform you duties as a referee.

At the conclusion of the game, certify the score, and with your back to the
scorer's bench, observe the handshake (I don't think you have to stay for
the entire thing, but close to the end).
Then leave with your partner.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INKLINGS THAT YOUR SAFETY IS AT RISK, INFORM THE SITE
ADMINISTRATOR, GET THE HANDSHAKE FORM, FILL IT OUT AND SUBMIT IT TO THE
ADMINISTRATOR AND SEND A COPY TO THE MIAA.

So if you fear for your safety you have track down the "Handshake" form before you leave??? WOW!!! This situation is a joke.

Sheesh!
No you don't track down the form.
You take one with you to the game.

Scout's honor!
Be prepared. :)

I was under the impression that we are still following the state board's vote NOT to adhere to the protocol, until the court ruling came down.

Maybe its board dependent? This is what one of my assignors has asked of us. My first few games are at schools where I am not to concerned about incidents. obviously you never know, but I don't anticipate any problems.
this whole situation is a joke. I just hope it is resolved one way or another soon.

It shouldn't be. Local IAABO boards are supposed to follow the state board.

And in the real world, you probably have to do what your assignor asks of you. But, personally, I will never stay for a handshake again, even if the court says that we have to follow the MIAA.

And that's why no basketball official should be asked to stay.

Amen.

I wish I was at a point in my career where I could say I will never stay for a handshake. Unfortunately if I want to work I will have to stay if that is what is asked of me.

Key word: "supposed". And that's why 700+ officials enrolled with the MIAA during their first enrollment period right before the post season tourney? This was before the local boards gave us the green light and enrolled everyone as a board...

Local boards are telling each other and the MIAA that all the officials are unified, but the local boards are telling their membership something different. They're basically saying "this is our stance, but as officials you are independant contractors and can do whatever you want, and we can't stop you or punish you for doing it". You can't say you're going to boycott the post season tournament, and then have more than an ample number of officials register with the MIAA. They might not necessarily be top-notch, deserving officials that would otherwise normally have received a post season assignment, but the MIAA would have more than enough bodies to put 3 officials on court for each game.

Bottom line is that if the local/state board wants any true negotiating pull with the MIAA, the membership needs to officially unionize, which I'm not saying I support by any means. And the problem with that, is that this would drive away a lot of officials from the IAABO boards and push them to one of a number of independent, non-IAABO boards in the state.

That policy is insane. Nice idealism, bad reality. If ti is the teams that matter, then why do officials even need to be there in the first place? Let game management handle the post-game stuff, not the officials.

If they want that kind of show of sportsmanship, then do it before the game starts. More people would see it, and it keeps hassles to a minimum.

Sorry for you MA guys.

I will be very surprised if this doesn't blow up in their face with serious post-game issues with the officials.

At our board meeting the other day, we were told the complaint was file Friday (12/5), and that the judge will hear the issue on Thursday morning. Not sure if this means that the judge will issue a ruling then also. We were asked to go and show up at the courthouse on Thursday to show our support on the matter, but I suspect that'll be tough for most people that hold day jobs.

Question: Anybody know who's paying for the legal services of the lawyer representing the state IAABO boards? I've got a feeling I already know the answer, given that most of the individual boards whose members I've spoken with haven't had their dues rate set this year yet...

it is my understanding that your feeling is correct. the state board has asked for a contribution from each member that wants the issue brought to court. if every official agrees it will be something on the order of $5. This was mentioned at one of our first meetings in October, so I'm not sure if it is still true or not.

Something I very, very, very much doubt.

So from how you describe it, it almost sounds voluntary. What happens if the contributions don't add up to the lawyer's actual charged fee? Who makes up the difference? Or is the lawyer more or less doing this as some kind of favor, and will just accept anything that the officials think is fair? Sorry for the questions, but my board has mentioned nothing at all about paying this lawyer, or the possibility of dividing the fee amongst the membership.

More to the point, if we are successful with arguing this issue before the judge, what if the MIAA decides to appeal the ruling? That's gotta mean more time, money, and expenses for our lawyer. Glad the individual board's state representatives thought this through and decided to check with their membership before moving forward. :rolleyes:

Don't mean to sound sarcastic, and I'm not complaining about spending 5 bucks or whatever, just upset about this in principle. Another reason this whole thing stinks going on 1 and a half years now with no resolution in sight.

Miichigan High School Athletic Association recently used some sort of Legal Insurance to contest a court question.

My guess is the state board will have to pay the difference. Of course, the state board's only income is from the local boards. So, each board might have to pay some sort of assessment fee or something to cover the costs.

Your individual board's "state reps" are your elected president, as well as your elected vice president or secretary. You voted for those folks and they represent you on the state board. Perhaps they should have given your local membership more info, or maybe your executive committee simply voted to pay the $5/member out of discretionary funds.

I agree that it's gone on too long. That is partly the fault of the state board, to be sure. But I think a resolution is now in sight, for better or for worse. Certainly by the tournament, we'll know 100% what the court's final decision is (even if there is an appeal, which I am hopeful will not happen).

my understanding is that if EVERY official agrees it will be on the order of $5. If every official doesn't agree then the fee will be divided amongst the officials who agree to pay a fee. I DO NOT KNOW FOR SURE if this is/will be the case. but it is something that I have heard. it doesn't really seem fair that only some officials would pay the fees for others who elect not to and the result would benefit everybody.
I also believe the lawyer is a mass IAABO member.
And there needs to be some resolution soon.

At our interpretation meeting last month, the board secretary had the "I can't stay for the handshake" forms. I asked for 20 -- one for each varsity game on my schedule. He thought I was joking. I was not.

I discussed this issue with one of my assignors. He said he did not care what we did...only that the crew did the same thing. If one guy was not going to stay, no one is to stay.

This is what I'm afraid is going to happen if the pghs has to stay. Let's say we have a varsity game with veteran official with 30+ years experience paired with a younger official (maybe 8-9 years total exp; 3-4 years varsity exp). Younger official is steadily improving, and moving up, looking to possibly snag his first post-season tourney game at the end of the season. Veteran official is dead set against sticking aroung for pghs and does not stay at the end of the game. What does the younger official do? If he stays, he looks bad in the eyes of his fellow officials. If he leaves, he can kiss post-season assignments bye-bye (for this year and probably for a few years to come...if not longer).

We can only hope the judge rules in our favor...otherwise it's going to get a lot uglier before it gets better...

Lawsuit filed against MIAA
 

From the Boston Herald:

The Mass. State Board of Officials (MSBOA) is seeking an injunction to the requirement that its members stay on the court to observe the postgame handshake following a high school basketball game. The MIAA was served with papers this weekend ordering it to appear in Worcester Superior Court on Thursday morning to address the issue.
“It’s a safety concern,” said Bob Grady, the president of MSBOA. “Our own rule book tells us not to stay on the court after the game. We’re not trying to be the bad guys here.”

MIAA wins case:

The MIAA earned what it believes was a major court victory yesterday when Judge Christine M. Roach of the Worcester Superior Court refused to grant an injunction to the Mass. State Board of Officials Association.

As a result, at the conclusion of all MIAA basketball games, the referees will be required to remain at courtside to observe the postgame handshake ceremony

This is not what I wanted to hear. I have my first varsity game of the year tonight in a gym where everyone must walk through a metal detector.

Well if you look on the bright side, at least you probably don't have to worry about fans with guns or knives...

Does Massachusetts have a law that specifies penalties for assaulting a sports official? If so, I think the first time one of you folks out there get assaulted post-game while observing the handshake, ought to file a criminal complaint not only against the the person who assaulted you but against the top gun in the MIAA and the judge who ruled against you folks. That would be payback because THEY put you in that position. I would look to what the judge said, regarding that the plaintiffs did not prove their physical well-being would be jeopardized. That's negligence on her part.

Thanks, I needed a bit of laugh.:D

This, in and of itself, is reason enough to leave the court and fill out the paperwork, instead of staying for the handshake.