Incident With Fan

[BBall_Junkie]

I only do varsity HS and small college as well and your analogies are apples and oranges. Handle it the way you want but I find you way off base as you seem to be the type who only see black and white and not the shades of gray that actually present a real bball game.

If "mommy" comes out of the stands during a game to question a call... gone. If she comes down pre game to see what the situation about her kid's medical bracelet is about and does so in a civilized manner I address it and have her take her place back in the stands... apples and oranges dude. In my opinion it is applying common sense to individual situations in a game environment and not covering everything with a blanket...

~sigh~... Again do it however you see fit but I personally find your approach to be heavy handed. I will judge each sitch on its own merits and act accordingly.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by BBall_Junkie

I Again do it however you see fit but I personally find your approach to be heavy handed. I will judge each sitch on its own merits and act accordingly.

FWIW (not much), I agree with BBall_Junkie on this. The mom certainly gets a short-leash, and I'm wondering why she's ther and won't put up with any crap, but I'll listen before I decide whether she needs to be told to get back in the stands.

[grunewar]

I think one of the key points to remember for medical alert bracelets is – what is their purpose? Diabetic? Insulin? Asthma? Heart?

Players and coaches know the rules. If coach, and mommy and daddy are present and a problem develops, they should of course KNOW of the medical situation and be able assist/inform the team or medical staff regardless if someone notices the bracelet taped to the body.

The issue is more important when no one knows about the problem and a situation develops.

I concur with bball and Bob though. If asked politely and nicely, I will address same.

[Ignats75]

Obviously, this is a web forum and although I can get long winded here, I can't type out a legal contract that discloses every little variation or scenario that may develop. If you try to do that with these types of questions, these become long-winded wizzing contests. I was addressing this qquestion from a big-picture and philosophical standpoint. Trying to parse each little way it can work is silly in this type of format. So I stand by my main point. This controversy has nothing to do with the kid's health. He's warming up for gosh sakes. Referee tells him that he needs to tape the bracelet. Mom needs not be involved in that situation. Is she going to argue that the red teeshirt he's wearing under his blue jersey should be allowed because she didn't have time to do the laundry yesterday too?

[archangel]

If the fan topic comes up in casual pregame converse, I'll usually joke and say the only fans I hear are the good looking moms!
Worked a middle school game with a new official last week, crowd was vocal. Start of 2nd half, I was standing at midcourt waiting for the clock to reset and the defense to break huddle, when a blond mom sitting in the bleacher floor row, 2 ft away, casually asks me "Mr referee, did you tell your partner good job?" I look over and tell her I dont understand what she means. She-"Well if you told him that, you were wrong, because he's awful". Her husband(?) chimes in, several others do too. I just ignore and on with the 2nd half....

[Ignats75]

Thats why its so dangerous to converse with the fans. By not defending him, you just threw him under the bus in the crowd's eyes. Now every time he makes a call they don't like, their frustration will increase and there's no telling how tough it will be on the newbie. You need to have his back in that situation, and if you are any kind of partner will try and take the heat for him. He's got enough on his mind already.

Only time I'll joke with a fan during a game is if I hear "good call". I'll acknowledge it with "they're all good calls".

[archangel]

I understand what you mean.
However, I didnt want to say he was new, or get into a discussion w/fans on defending him (his calls and mechanics were rough and frankly, though new, wasnt doing a good job), so I dont think I threw him under the bus. I usually dont even talk to fans, but the "good job" part confused me enough to ask...