Uhm, so what's the penalty for verbally assaulting a referee during this warm and fuzzy Hallmark moment?

You know, B26 comes up to the official, and while shaking his hand, says, "You're the worst F-ing ref I've seen in my life and your B!%@# mother should be ashamed of you."

Those just may be valid statements especially if the team member made it through all 4 quarters without a T being assessed :D

Maybe, but why did you have to bring my Mom into this?

That is covered too. I did not want to include all the sanctions and remedies, but the MIAA Rule Book has almost three pages on "sportsmanship."

This is Rule 49.9:

Some of the reasons that an official may disqualify a student or coach from a contest that would lead to a game disqualification are:
1. Fighting
2. Flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct which is defined but not limited to violent action toward a player, official, or spectator, the use of foul or abusive language, taunting, trash talk, and the like.

Having worked with this "handshake" rule for two seasons, I don't have the concerns that others here raise. In those rare games where I do not feel safe, I do not have to stay for the handshake. If there is no "warning" of a problem and one develops, I have the site manager at my side to deal with fans and enough authority under under MIAA rules to deal with problems from players or coaches.

How do the MIAA rules help you deal with a water bottle that cracks you in the back of the head? A bottle was thrown at an official in the WMass finals last season; fortunately it missed. But frankly, no sportsmanship initiative is worth that risk to me.

The MIAA has decided it wants this rule in place. I have two choices -- accept it or decline to work high school games sanctioned by the MIAA. The MIAA did a much better job this year of getting the schools to do their job. A school I was at last week had a site manager follow the protocol to the letter; last year at the same school, I could not even find a custodian with a key to the locker room.

I don't live in a risk-free world and I accept those risks in everything I do. I had a game last night that should have been 20 minutes away. But because of snow, ice, rush hour and Christmas shopping traffic, it took me almost 75 minutes to get there. Do I decline the game because there is ice on the roads? Or I might get hit by a holiday shopper gabbing on the cell phone? I respect your concern for our safety. But I also respect that when I work a high school game under MIAA rules, they get to set the rules. I can handle that...or I would not take the game.

Soccer? Baseball? Football? Wrestling? Volleyball? Gymnastics? Etc. ???
 

Not counting the Bay State, are there any other interscholastic, or intercollegiate, sports where the officials customarily, or by rule, stick around after the game, or match, or meet, has been decided, for some type of post game handshake? Does the Massachusetts handshake edict only apply to basketball, or to all interscholastic sports in that state?

I think it's routinely done in some other sports, and MA decided to impliment this grand experiment in warm fuzzies with all sports.

All team sports, specifically: volleyball, soccer, football, field hockey, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, gymnastics, softball and lacrosse.

I Like Being The Straight Man ...
 

Mark Padgett: Do you hang around to observe handshakes after the croquet match after you have approved the final score?

(What a straight line. This is going to be good)

Until officials are employees of the state, I think you have more recourse than "none."

Individual schools do not have to follow MIAA rules either -- unless they want to participate in the state tournament, which is run by the MIAA. So most public and parochial schools follow the rules. The private schools have their own association/leagues with their own rules and they do not enter the MIAA tournament.

I can decide how to officiate my games, but my assignors might not agree with my decision. I say "might" because two of my assignors have left it up to me (and my partners). Other assignors have explicitly told their officials that they MUST take part in the handshake or they will have their games withdrawn. So being "independent" doesn't mean I can do what I want -- unless I am willing to accept the consequences of not getting assignments for high school varsity games.

If the officials would come together on this stupidity, like they should, there would be no officials to assign.

Too many don't care.

And there are some that see this as an opportunity to work games they otherwise wouldn't (see last year's tournament).

I've never stayed for a PGHS, so I have no idea if this kind of thing happens in my neck of the woods.