To T or Not to T, that is the Question

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Had a game this past weekend, two schools playing at a neutral site. Timeout called. Teams come back out on the floor. "Home" team only has 4 players, and I was double-checking my count when partner went ahead and gave the "visiting" team the ball for the throw-in. I see the 5th player for "home" go to the table during the throw-in, and then lo and behold, she enters the game while the clock is running. I blow my whistle and give the T sign. When I went to report it, the timer, who is the AD at the "neutral" school, indicates that it was his fault because he told her to go ahead and enter. After conferring with my partner, I waved off the T, with explanation to both teams. Good handle or bad? How would you have handled it differently? I know one way I would have handled it differently would have been to hold partner up for a moment while I was double-checking the count, but he was wanting the pace of the game to go quicker because the teams were slow coming out of their timeouts.

Ref Ump Welsch:

You do not say if your crew was a two- or three-person crew, but I am getting the impression that it was a two-person crew. In any case, let us look how this situation should be handled and go from there.

1) PRE-GAME!! PRE-GAME!! PRE-GAME!! PRE-GAME!! PRE-GAME!!

2) Crew communication!! Crew communication!! Crew communication!!

3) When your partner gave the ball to V1 for the throw-in before you were done with your player count, put great quanities of air into your whistle for as long as it takes to get your partner's attention while moving toward him while showing the Stop Sign. Your whistle will kill everything.

4) There are ways to get teams out of the huddle and in this situation your partner's action was not the way to do it.

5) When you get into the dressing room for half-time (if this situation took place in the first half) or after the game (if this situation took place in the second half) I would be having a very serious chat with my partner about eye contact and partner communication.

In the final analysis, you should have taken control of the situation: Get together with your partner in private and make the decision that there is not going to be a TF because, as an officiating crew, you screwed up by not communicating. Get the player into the game. And move on.

MTD, Sr.