Chastised for double T on Coach

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Bishopcolle

1st T: on a 1/1 FT, he is standing behind me (lead, administering) whispers "Idiot." WHACK!.....As I am reporting, and returning to administer T FTs, he asks "What's that for?" I tell him, "I heard the idiot comment, Coach." He immediately jumps back with "You need to learn how to officiate. You're the worst ref I've ever seen!" So I whacked him again, and tossed him. First T's of the year. After faxing in my report, and making a verbal telcal, the next day the State High School office advises that I need to slow down on the second T, and get some distance (which I agree with and try to do) and that I need to swallow my whistle and have a deaf ear (which I don't buy, but I can support their position and philosophy, if so mandated.) I just don't see that the NFHS rules supports that the Coach gets a "free shot" at me once he has earned the first T. Short of the F-Bomb, leave him alone, I was told. Again, I agree you need to give him some room and distance, and time, but I felt his comments were too unsportsmanlike, and in front of the kids. How wrong was I?

I would tell the state office thanks for their advice and never report anything to them again.

You did good, although I'm trying to understand how he could be behind you when you're the lead administering.

BTW, when the coach said that to you, as your partner I would've been ejecting him right with you so that when we filed the report we could say that each official gave one of the technical fouls. There is this incredibly stupid notion that the caller of the first T should disappear and not call a second warranted T, which I find stupid at face value, but there's always ways around people like this. (I've only ejected 2 coaches in 22 years, both subvarsity, both of them before 1995, but I've made a lot of baseball coaches disappear.)