character witness

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by just another ref

A couple of years ago at the end of a rec league game, I had a dad come out on the court and tell me, among other things, that I was a no good son of a b*tch. I was unimpressed. I told him he was not qualified to criticize me and dismissed him with a wave of the hand.

Tonight I got a call from the guy's wife. It seems that they are in the midst of divorce proceedings and have accusations against each other about less than perfect behavior. She wanted to know if I would mind testifying about the above incident as an example of her husband's true character, more or less.

Anybody ever seen anything like this, and what would you have told her?

1) Years ago, after a summer league game, a father came up to me and call me an a$$hole. I corrected him, by telling him that I was the SOB of the officiating crew and then pointed to my my partner and told the father that he was the a$$hole.

2) Regarding the jerk's soon to be ex-wife. Do nothing until you are officially contacted by her lawyer. If she contacts you again politely tell her that you will only entertain official contact from her lawyer. If her lawyer does contact you, you might want to contact a lawyer yourself because of the content of your possible testimony.

MTD, Sr.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Do nothing until you are officially contacted by her lawyer. If she contacts you again politely tell her that you will only entertain official contact from her lawyer. If her lawyer does contact you, you might want to contact a lawyer yourself because of the content of your possible testimony.

Having been through a divorce, I have a pretty good idea what she was asking. She may not have been directly asking if you were willing to testify, but were willing to be listed as a possible witness. It's up to the attorney whether he/she subpoenas you actually appear in court. In any case, I would have said I would rather your attorney contact me and discuss it. She was probably trying to save herself a couple hundred bucks by making the contact directly, because the attorney will bill her for contacting you. (Trust me, they bill for every little piece of scratch paper they use to take notes on!)

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Trust me, they bill for every little piece of scratch paper they use to take notes on!

Amen brother. Like $50.00 to read, and answer, a simple email.

[dsturdy5]

I had a parent come out of the stands once after a youth league game and tell me I was mean to his son (because I gave him a technical for swearing at me, he was 11). He wouldn't let up, even during the next game. I get home and the assignor has already left a message on my voicemail asking what happened. The father went to the police saying I touched his kid. Now, I was in a pretty bad mood that day but I would never touch a player on the court. The police, the league, the board, everyone got involved. He eventually retracted his statement when every other parent present in the gym that day was questioned and not a one had a story to even closely back his up.

I told the story at work (I am a teacher in the same town), and not knowing who the guy is, several of my co-workers who have children said they knew him from little league. Parents begged their kids off of his team. He was only given a team because he owns a successful business in town and was able to fund the field upkeep and uniforms for all teams. He apparently has since been barred from coaching and/or attending any sporting event in town due to his antics over time.

The moral of the story is, "sometimes you just meet an a**hole".

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Amen brother. Like $50.00 to read, and answer, a simple email.

Is that all??? Mine charged me $75 once, and only because he felt a simple one-line emailed question needed a two-page dictated letter.

[amusedofficial]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Is that all??? Mine charged me $75 once, and only because he felt a simple one-line emailed question needed a two-page dictated letter.

Yeah? So? You ask a question and are depending on the answer as legal advice and you'd sue the attorney in a heartbeat because "he shoulda told me..."

Pay your lawyer. Even the shortest question may have enormous possibilities at law.