Questionable T?

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by ma_ref

Sounds like another "had to be there" situation. Mannerisms/body language may give you ammo to hand out a T, but personally I would probably not have T'd cuz you didn't hear what the player said.

You T'd her for mouthing off. Most coaches are going to ask "What did she say?" The problem comes up with the fact that you told the coach you "couldn't make out her words". That's kind of like getting pulled over by the police for speeding, but they can't tell you how fast you were going. Coach is unhappy, and rightfully so...

MA Ref:

Does the Mass. mandatory mouth guard rule make this kind of action harder to officiate?

MTD, Sr.

[ma_ref]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

MA Ref:

Does the Mass. mandatory mouth guard rule make this kind of action harder to officiate?

MTD, Sr.

Mouth guard isn't mandatory anymore (thankfully). It was changed to just being "recommended" to teams after only 1 or 2 seasons. Since they dropped it, my experience is that most kids don't wear them anymore. They weren't used to wearing them and, in some cases they found it difficult to breathe, and point guards bringing the ball up the court called out plays that sounded all garbled. I can't tell you how many times I saw one dropped on the floor, and since they couldn't play without it, kids just pick it up and put it back in their mouth.

But back to your point, when they were required, most kids took them out to speak, which made our job easier when it comes to listening for unsportsmanlike conduct. No point in trash-talking your opponent when they can't understand you...