When coaches run things

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

It's almost as if you could figure some things out, except for the part where you can't.

I work for an assignor who is very similar to the one described in the OP. This assignor accepts calls from coaches within minutes of the conclusion of a game, and then calls the officials shortly after - many times before we are even out of the parking lot. This assignor allows coaches to complain about things and then reschedule games to pacify the complaining coach. It is ridiculous, and has caused many of us to reconsider officiating at one time or another.

Thank you for your honesty. The sad truth is this happens and it isn't about coaches liking and/or respecting officials. It is the way our society is going: the person who makes the most noise doesn't have to be right.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Thank you for your honesty. The sad truth is this happens and it isn't about coaches liking and/or respecting officials. It is the way our society is going: the person who makes the most noise doesn't have to be right.

It all comes down to who the assignor works for. In my case, the assignor works for the conferences, therefore has to keep the commissioner happy. The best way to do that is to make sure the AD's are not calling the commish. How to do that? Keep the coaches from complaining to their AD's...it's a ridiculous situation. It has nothing to do with liking or respecting - just manipulating.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

It all comes down to who the assignor works for. In my case, the assignor works for the conferences, therefore has to keep the commissioner happy. The best way to do that is to make sure the AD's are not calling the commish. How to do that? Keep the coaches from complaining to their AD's...it's a ridiculous situation. It has nothing to do with liking or respecting - just manipulating.

Maybe, but if she had any fortitude, she'd take the call and blow it off. Sort of like the customer service rep I talked to last week.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Maybe, but if she had any fortitude, she'd take the call and blow it off. Sort of like the customer service rep I talked to last week.

Or else talk like the software reps: got a complaint about Snaqwells? "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

It all comes down to who the assignor works for.

This is the point I was going to make. Rocky just beat me to it. Some areas have an assignor who is hired by the officials' association. For my college games (D2/D3/juco), the assignor is hired by an organization that negotiates between conferences and the officials' association. They're kind of an objective 3rd party. In those types of cases, the assignors aren't beholden to the coaches or schools that they assign for. If anything, they are more likely to take the official's side.

But some assignors are hired directly by the conference. This is how it works for my high school schedule. In that case, the assignor has to please the coaches to keep the job. If enough coaches complain to the commissioner about the assignor, s/he is out. So that assignor is under more pressure to take those phone calls from the irate coach right away, and maybe even to discipline officials over borderline incidents in order to keep the irate coach happy to hang on to the assigning job.