Why broadcasters are idiots

[ChuckElias]

We've had "Why coaches are idiots", we've had "Why officials are idiots", and (as if we needed any more convincing), here is reason #1,537 why broadcasters are idiots. . .

ROME -- Italian state broadcast station RAI is considering taking legal action against soccer ruling body FIFA because of refereeing errors it believes led to Italy's defeat at the World Cup.

In a statement, RAI said it had asked its legal department to study building a case showing that FIFA was responsible for the poor quality refereeing.

"(The case) would seek to have FIFA reimburse damages suffered by (RAI) following the exit of the Italian team from the World Cup on the basis of universally recognised refereeing errors, errors that were so blatant they could only be described as the product of serious fraud," the statement said.

The full article can be found at:

http://worldcup.espnsoccernet.com/st...218235&lang=us

[BigDave]

...are so terrible in all sports, I say we just stop officiating and let the players decide who is adhering to the rules during play.

Can you imagine the goat rope that would be?

I have a feeling Rasheed would shoot 150 FTs per game.

[AK ref SE]

Because most of them(not all) are X players and they did not have a grasp on the rules then, why would they be any different now!

AK ref SE

[Matt S.]

Chuck-

As an official as well as a sports journalist, I become annoyed each time I see officials call broadcasters idiots. For the most part, broadcasters ARE NOT officials, and we shouldn't hold them to the same standards of rules knowledge and the like as we hold ourselves.

Furthermore, after reading the entire article, it seems like RAI is pulling its own publicity stunt in an effort to get Italian viewers to continue watching World Cup matches despite their own team's non-participation. I don't think ESPN or ABC would do the same had the U.S. lost earlier in the tourney-they are established media outlets that don't need such publicity.

Please take a moment to ask yourself if the subject to you post truly reflects your feelings of sports journalists.

[ChuckElias]

Hmmmmmmm, these "idiot" type posts are generally intended to be humorous (cf PA Coach's "post" about officials). In fact, I thought that the article itself was pretty funny. That's one reason I felt pretty safe in making the post.

Having said that, we have countless examples of broadcasters (mostly TV game commentators) being idiots.

For the most part, broadcasters ARE NOT officials, and we shouldn't hold them to the same standards of rules knowledge and the like as we hold ourselves.

The fact that they are not experts on the rules does not give them leeway when they pontificate about poor officiating. In fact, offering such criticism when the critic has little or no knowledge of the subject under discussion is precisely what qualifies him/her to be an idiot.

If they're going to criticize, then they should have a modicum of understanding about what they're criticizing; and in a vast majority of the cases, they don't. It's like me walking into John's Hopkins and criticizing the chief surgeon. I'd be an idiot. The same principle applies (although, I clearly am not trying to identify my avocation with the rigors of a profession in surgery; nobody lives or dies based on my calls -- thank God!) to the broadcasters, in my opinion.

If it's true that the broadcasting company is going to sue over perceived poor officiating, then the person(s) bringing the suit are in fact idiots.

I have a great deal of respect for a great number of sports journalists. Very few of them, however, are TV broacasters. Just my opinion.

Chuck

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by Matt S.
Chuck-

As an official as well as a sports journalist, I become annoyed each time I see officials call broadcasters idiots. For the most part, broadcasters ARE NOT officials, and we shouldn't hold them to the same standards of rules knowledge and the like as we hold ourselves.

Matt,as a sports journalist,are you not supposed to research your topic or subject to make sure that what you say is factual? Rules knowledge comes under the same criteria.If broadcasters are going to comment on rules,then they SHOULD be held to the same standards as ourselves.If not,they are idiots for spreading mis-information!
Note that I'm not talking about judgement calls.Those are always fair game for second-guessing,even amongst ourselves.I'm talking about broadcasters who don't have a clue what the actual rule is,or it's proper application.

[Mark Padgett]

I'm reminded of an NBA game that was on earlier this year that had that rules expert, Doug Collins, on the mike. There was an inbound play that hit off a players hand and then went into the backcourt and Dick Bavetta had a no call on the over and back. When Collins yelled at him about it during a dead ball, Bavetta said there was no control.

Collins asked for a replay and when the ball was bounced to the inbounder on the replay he said, "No control!!! He's got the ball right in both of his hands!!!"

Yeesh.

[Ralph Stubenthal]

I'm not taking sides either way but I just want to share a story from the season before last in our little hometown newspaper. The town has a population of about 15000 and the game was 4A Varsity boys. The hometeam got beaten badly and the reporter interviewed the "star" player after the game as part of an article covering the game. During the entire interview the player complained about bad officiating and said that that was the reason they lost the game. He said that they couldn't compete "5 players against 7." (The game was called 2-person) Well, it was one thing for the player to say things like this but totally another thing for the paper to print it. But print it it did-- in its entirety. The manure hit the fan when the paper came out. The coach apologized in the next issue and the paper made some minor apologetic type statement about how those particular statements got overlooked while the article was being printed. The whole thing died down as quickly as it started but I just thought this might be an interesting story to add to the discussion on sports journalism.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by Ralph Stubenthal
I'm not taking sides either way but I just want to share a story from the season before last in our little hometown newspaper. The town has a population of about 15000 and the game was 4A Varsity boys. The hometeam got beaten badly and the reporter interviewed the "star" player after the game as part of an article covering the game. During the entire interview the player complained about bad officiating and said that that was the reason they lost the game. He said that they couldn't compete "5 players against 7." (The game was called 2-person) Well, it was one thing for the player to say things like this but totally another thing for the paper to print it. But print it it did-- in its entirety. The manure hit the fan when the paper came out. The coach apologized in the next issue and the paper made some minor apologetic type statement about how those particular statements got overlooked while the article was being printed. The whole thing died down as quickly as it started but I just thought this might be an interesting story to add to the discussion on sports journalism.

I don't fault the paper for printing quotes in that situation. After all, this wasn't an editorial, but a news story. They were just reporting what that immature sociopath was saying. I hope someone wrote a letter to that kid's parents telling them that they are failing in their number one job as parents - teaching their kid to take responsibility for the consequences of his own actions.

This kid sounds like he'll always be a loser in life as long as he blames others for his shortcomings.

Was that too harsh? Tough.

Now I'll tell you how I really feel.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by Mark Padgett
They were just reporting what that immature sociopath was saying.
This kid sounds like he'll always be a loser in life as long as he blames others for his shortcomings.

Was that too harsh?[/B]

Yeah,that was too harsh.The kid's probably just got a bad haircut!

[Matt S.]

I will agree that there are occasions when certain tv broadcasters make blatantly erroneous comments about rules and the like, and for that, they can be ridiculed. But more times that not, people like to bash broadcasters over such minute items simply because they are in the limelight.

And Chuck, the only reason I pointed in your direction initially was because I thought the article you were using to show that "broadcasters are idiots" was inappropriate for the subject-I haven't bothered reading the other "why ___ are idiots" threads. I do, however, respect your opinion.

As for the above mentioned newspaper article-there is no reason for a paper to not publish a quote such as that-it is a quote, not the paper's opinion.

[BktBallRef]

Most local newspapers refrain from posting comments about officiating or officials. They may run a wire service story about professional sports officiating but most stay away from negativity about local sports officiating. Our local paper normally follows this practice. The local prep sports editor is a friend of mine and a proponent of our local association. Also, comments from high school coachea about officiting can draw reprimands and fines from the NCHSAA.

Personally, I think the print media is a different animal from TV commnetators. In most cases, I don't consider them to be journalists. Many are just talking heads. My opinion is that if you're going to announce a game, you should be proficent enough to know basic rules. I'm not talking about situations that would confuse most anyone but an official. But situations like the BC play that Mark cited is basic basketball. Collins has played, coached, and analyzed the game for over 30 years and he still doesn't understand team control. GMAFB!