Unusual and weird situation resulting in ejection
 

Boy's Freshmen during a 3-game Junior High night.

Blue 2 was flopping all night, and hardly any contact is made (he would flop when the shooter would be a foot or two away from him) and we wouldn't call anything, not even a block because no contact would be made until both players would be on the ground.

Well, it would be the 4th or 5th time he flopped, and just like the other times, the shooter would go down after the shot to make sure he doesn't step on the flopper. This time, however, the shooter injures his wrist when falling down. I call the coach over and two other guys came with him, the trainer and one other person who I thought was an AC.

Coach asked "what, NO FOUL?!" and I would respond with "Coach, there was no contact". Then this third guy snickered/laughed at my response in a cocky way so I whacked him with a T (thinking he was an AC). Go to the table, report the T, then administered two free throws. Then it gets weird.

After FT'er misses both T FT, my partner, who was talking to the HC of the team I just whacked, calls me over. HC tells me "I have no ACs, he was the scorekeeper and he is the father of the player that got injured".

This is what I did which I believe to be correct. Since ball was never put back into play, this is a correctable error situation. I wiped out the technical since only Bench personnel, coaches and players can get technical fouls. I told the scorekeeper of both teams (someone took over when the father left the table) to not have any indication of the two FT being taken, even though both were missed. I also wiped out the indirect to the HC. I then said to the AD, who was near the table, that I want that father ejected from the gym because of his snickering at me when he was already violating two other rules, leaving the table and being an ineligible person to go onto the court. Then we continued the game with the POI since ball was in play when I stopped it due to the injury.

Let's the comments begin, please...

Added comment: BTW, this was my first ejection in the 6 years I have been a basketball official. I've had ejections in soccer however.

Concerning what I've underlined, I have a question concerning rules. Since the father was the scorekeeper, was he the official scorekeeper or the visitors' scorekeeper?

If he was the visitors' scorekeeper, couldn't the T be assesed being that he could be considered bench personnel due to coming on the court without permission & his repsonse to the answer to the coach?

From my understanding, bench personnel include: non-active players, managers, & staticians.

I hardly know where to begin with this one....

1) You were the author of your own misfortune and you've got nobody to blame for this mess but yourself. Flopping all night and you wouldn't call anything? Whythehell not? It's against the rules, isn't it? After the FIRST flop, warn the kid. If he does it again, "T" him up. He'll cut that crap out in a hurry if you take care of bidness. You did nothing and as a direct result, a ballplayer was injured.; sorry, but there it is.

2) Flopping is a technical foul. The definition of "flopping" says NO or little contact. The coach knows more about the rule than you do.

3) Cool. You gave a technical foul to the father of an injured player. On the bright side, you're doing your part to stamp out "snickering".

4) And which one of the 5 correctable errors listed under rule 2-10-1 do you think that this one was? Sorry, but it was an official's error. And that official was you. Might as well man up and admit it instead of mistakenly trying to use a rule as an excuse. And if you think that a team's supporters can't get charged with a technical foul also, you got a lot of rule book reading to do.

5) Ineligible to go on the court? The father of an injured freshman high school player is ineligible to go on the court? Think about it.

Without getting into even more detail, I'll just say hopefully you'll learn from this.

He was the home's scorekeeper, so he was part of the officiating crew, not part of the team.

Erroneously awarding an unmerited free throw.

And I did tell the coach I ****ed up (in lighter terms) and apologize because the guy who was the scorekeeper did AC the 7th and 8th grade games, so it was just a familiar face that I associated with being an AC.

Well with that being the case, he didn't follow through on his duties properly then. Being the official/home book you are supposed to remain neutral at all times. Only times the table crew is supposed to leave the table is at halftime (with the official scorer staying unless someone else is available to watch the official book), & at the end of the game.

Actually concerning my point about neutrality, everyone at the table is supposed to be neutral.

That is meant for when you shoot bonus free throws when the team wasn't really in the bonus. You can't retract a technical and use the C.E. rule as your justification.

C'mon, Call It!
 

One calm, deserving dose of 10-3-6f would have probably avoided the whole mess.
Sorry, but this one's on you.

ART. 6 . . . Commit an unsporting foul. This includes, but is not limited to, acts or conduct such as:
a. Disrespectfully addressing or contacting an official or gesturing in such a
manner as to indicate resentment.
b. Using profane or inappropriate language or obscene gestures.
c. Baiting or taunting an opponent.
NOTE: The NFHS disapproves of any form of taunting which is intended or designed to embarrass, ridicule or demean others under any circumstances including on the basis of race, religion, gender or national origin.
d. Purposely obstructing an opponent’s vision by waving or placing hand(s) near his/her eyes.
NOTE: Purposely diverting an opponent’s attention by waving is different than
holding or waving the hands near the opponent’s eyes for the express purpose of obstructing the vision so that he/she cannot see.
e. Climbing on or lifting a teammate to secure greater height.
f. Faking being fouled, knowingly attempting a free throw or accepting a foul to which the player was not entitled.
g. Use tobacco or smokeless tobacco.
h. Removing the jersey &/or pants/skirt within the visual confines of the playing area.

I'm going to pretty much end up echoing others, but you have got to put a stop to flopping for two reasons. First of all, it's a safety issue. Players are in danger when bodies are on the floor. Second of all, he's trying to influence your calls by faking being fouled. It's a clear tech if it's that obvious. If his flopping is causing the shooter to hit the floor, you really need to make the call.

This drives home my point. The shooter is trying to control himself and falls because this knucklehead is trying to fool the officials. It's happening more than once, and you're just letting it go.
And here is where you harvest what you sowed.

"little contact" can still be a foul if it forces a player to the floor. In this case, "no contact" is a foul because it's unsporting actions that led to the fall that led to the wrist injury.

Ugh, this is not a correctable error. You can't call a foul, shoot the free throws, and then uncall the foul by saying the free throws were unmerited. The free throws were merited because you called a foul. What if someone tried to do that with a shooting foul, would you think they were justified?

Look, I understand that I should have T'd him up. I had emailed the Rule Interpreter of our chapter and he told me that it really isn't called in this chapter, or many other chapters in Pennsylvania. He also said that besides that fact, I did do it correctly to his knowledge, but that he would look it up this weekend and let me know.

As for CE, the rule book does not say anything about it having to be only in bonus situations. It covers all unmerited situations. While the intent was for bonus/non-bonus situations, I did do it correctly to say that those FT attempts do not count.

I'm sorry, but you didn't do it correctly. Let me present a play to demonstrate.

A1 goes up for a shot in the lane, and B1 goes up to defend. B1 blocks it cleanly, knocking it out of bounds. C calls a phantom foul. B coach goes ballistic, so the official Ts the coach.

After shooting the shooting all the shots, the C then approaches the L and asks him what he saw. "It was clean, no contact at all."

The C then decides to correct his error (time frame still applies) and retract the original shooting foul. He wipes away the points because they were unmerited.

Do you think he has rules backing for this?

And I'm sorry, but your rules interpreter shouldn't have to look this up to know you kicked it.

I cannot picture this. Defender flops. No contact. "....a foot or two away..."
And wouldn't that mean he is even farther away after the flop? Yet the shooter falls down to keep from stepping on him??

I don't get it.

I hate to be the one to bring this up, but representing has been officiating for six years and doesn't know how the CE rule applies?

I'm more concerned that his rules interpreter doesn't seem to either.

Ignorance compounded by arrogance is a dangerous combination that will keep you in hot water. Time to add a little humility and some serious book learning to your personality profile.
Good luck with that...

My God, man, you were wrong and simply won't admit it. You simply don't get to define "unmerited free throws" however you want. Words mean things.

I'm not defining anything, it defines itself!

let me break it down:

definition of merit: something that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation (dictionary.com)

in case you (and the some of the others) skipped 1st grade, when you add "un" in front of a word, it means the opposite or not. Hence, unmerited means opposite of or NOT deserved or justified a reward or commendation.

In this case, the free throws were not justified or deserved because no one else besides a coach, player or bench personnel (i.e. trainer) can receive a technical foul. A father (or any other spectators) or officiating crew on table cannot be given a technical foul.

REFERENCES:
Technical fouls: 4-19-5 and 10-1 thru 5
Correctable error on unmerited FT: 2-10-1b

Putting all of this together, it was WRONG of me to T up the father and scorekeeper thinking he was an AC. The FTs were unmerited, because the Technical, which resulted in both FTs, was given to someone who cannot be legally given a technical foul. Because he cannot be given a technical foul, it cannot be official in the book. End result, ejection to that person and continue play at POI.

Can't get any simpler than that. I wasted too much time getting all of this together when I should be sleeping right now, so I'm logging off for the night.

Unmerited means what the NFHS says it means, not what Webster or you say it means. I'm wasting my time with you, you know everything.

Well, except how to penalize a habitual flopper, apparently.

Oh, and that a technical can (by rule) be called against someone in the stands, if necessary.

1) I have too much respect for rules interpreters country-wide to EVER believe you could find one ANYWHERE to agree that the mess YOU created was called correctly. I call boolsh!t.

2) A whole bunch of very rules-knowledgable officials have just told you that you are completely wrong. Yet you continue to insist that you called the play correctly by rule. Un-freaking-believable!

I'm really not sure why you posted in the first place. If it was to get some honest feedback, then why won't you listen to the unanimous assessment of what you did wrong? And if you thought that you were going to get agreement or sympathy for the mess that you caused, you posted in the wrong place. Next time, go to Dr. Ruth. She's the one to ask for advice when you've just screwed someone.

You have one heckuva lot to learn. And you'll never learn a damn thing until you recognize that you have one heckuva lot to learn.

1) Telling.....n'uff said. :rolleyes:

2) This is for new officials who might mistakenly think that there's even a kernel of truth hidden somewhere in those 2 sentences. See NFHS rule 2-8-1 which states "The official shall penalize unsporting conduct by a coach, player, substitute, attendant or follower. In the NOTE underneath that, you will find "The officials may call fouls on either team if its supporters act in such a way as to interfere with the proper conduct of the game." And in case book play 2.8.1 you can find this statement in the RULING- It is significant that the word used is "may". This gives permission but does not in any way imply that officials must call technical fouls on TEAM FOLLOWERS OR SUPPORTERS for unsporting act. There is a lot of additional germane information contained in the rule and case play. You should learn it so that you can properly apply it...and avoid a mess like the one representing caused. And btw, I personally doubt very much that the NFHS rules makers ever issued anything that would infer that a father coming on to the court to check on his injured son/daughter had just committed an unsporting act and his child's team should be penalized for for it. I also doubt that there's any rules interpreter anywhere that isn't aware of that rule and case play.

Wtf!?!?!
 

representing, just what exactly are YOU representing? The "I'm an idiot, don't like to read the rulebook, and instead make up a bunch of stupid crap about the rules so I can make myself look better in spite of a royal and complete screw up" guy?

WOW!!! :eek::eek:

You have got to be kidding, right?? I don't even need to post what you did wrong, that has already been covered in nauseating detail. What makes me even more sick is that you refuse to admit you kicked it, from START to FINISH!!!

Look, EVERY official has been there. EVERY ONE OF US has royally screwed the pooch. Some of us more than a couple times (do I dare admit I have done it). Suck it up, LEARN FROM IT, and sure as He!! make sure it doesn't happen again.

To quote Jurassic . . . "nuff said."

You stepped in a pile of dung, tried to clean it off with a rag full of dung and still think there's no dung on your shoe.

Time to re-take the class again Sparky.

Fine, I've messed up. I'm moving on now, have a good day, mate.

Just to let you guys know, and I'm not trying to start up any arguments. The rule interpreter from the league I ref for has contacted someone from PIAA regarding the play and he, too, said the same thing. Besides f*cking up with not recognizing that it was the scorekeeper who came out onto the court with the coach and trainer, I did it correctly by canceling the FT attempts and retracting the illegally-given technical fouls.

'Nuff said.

Why was the technical foul considered illegal?

I may have used the wrong term in my last post, but the table officiating crew cannot be given a T. If the referees on the court have a problem with anyone at the table, they can be removed from their duty and not exactly ejected from the gym, or you can eject them altogether.

Boolsh!t.

There's no rules justification to cancel the free throws after they were taken.

It wasn't a correctable error and there isn't any other rules justification that will allow you to go back and fix YOUR mistake, There isn't a competent rules interpreter anywhere that would ever agree with your nonsense.

Lah me......:rolleyes:
Feel free to continue to think that you got that part of the play right. It's a waste of time for anybody on here to try to help you become a better official anyway imo. You already think that you know everything.

JaR. I'm trying to respect you but you're constant "bool****" is making me respect you even less.

I've told you (and others) that I have admitted it was my fault. I even said that i apologized to the coach about it. And it was my fault for not at least warning the player to stop flopping.

And when have I ever said "I know it all"? I don't. I got on this forum to learn more, but it seems that no matter what message boards I go to, there will always be guys like you just waiting to prey on the next "noobie" official to convince him/her to hang up the whistle. I will never hang up my whistle. I want to be a damn good official, so I come to you guys to help me out.

I do know that, at least in Pennsylvania, this would have been done the same way by many officials. I've told this situation I had to several of my buddies who have done State tournaments in Pennsylvania and they all said pretty much the same thing. I f*cked up because I didn't realize that it was the scorekeeper doing that before I T'ed him up, but I did take care of it correctly.

dear representing
 

In regard to the flopping that happened so frequently by the same player.

Someone suggested a warning. Try that, it is useful.
Consider calling a blocking foul. Then call it again. The player will soon be departing.

I agree that a T is certainly an option, but at the highest levels this is not called. So I would say that is a bit extreme.

Lastly, review the rule book and casebook in greater detail. Misapplication of the rules is on you. I have reason to suspect that you knew you messed up and tried to explain it to your rules interpreter so as to minimize your culpability.

Officials get better when they recognize the errors they make and eliminate them from their game. Hit the Rule Book and these types of errors will become a thing of the past. You have basically wasted your first 6 years by not knowing the rules better. Your future is in your hands.

Your continued and incorrect assertion in the face of near-universal instruction to the contrary is one reason that many esteemed posters regard you as a know-it-all and unteachable.

Let me take a stab at this one. You would not have T'd the guy had you known he was table crew and not AC. Okay, fine, we all buy that. But he was on the court to check on the player, momentarily affiliated with that team if you will. This would make the technical foul acceptable to some.


But forget about all that. Suppose the guy who made the snide remarks was simply an innocent bystander, a coach of some other team scouting, someone who undeniably was not associated with either team, but you didn't know all that and T'd him anyway. This is no different than if you called a T on A1 for saying "The ref sucks," and later learned that in fact B1 was the one who said it.

This is a bad mistake, sure, but a mistake is all it is. It is not a correctable error. These were not unmerited free throws. When a technical is called, free throws are merited.

Swallow it. Remember it and learn to be not so quick on the trigger if you're not sure of all the facts, and move on.

By the way - has anyone else ever teched someone for snickering during an explanation to a head coach? I certainly haven't seen or done it...

1) Nope. You keep trying to insist that the rules will allow you to rescind those technical foul free throws. You absolutely refuse to admit that you screwed that up.

2) Guys like me? Go back and read every post in this thread and see if you can find a "guy like you". Nobody here agreed with the way you handled the situation. Nobody! The only one that you can find to agree with you is some mystical, un-named rules interpreter. And btw, I also went back and reviewed my posts to you and I can't see anywhere that I advocated that you hang up your whistle. I did state that you have one helluva lot to learn. I'll stand by that statement.

3) Boolsh!t. :)

Representing, can you please answer the following question?
The concept is similar, as a foul cannot legally be called without contact.

BTW, I would be willing to bet a game check that you would get a different answer from the NFHS.

Ok Snaqs, point well taken.

And no, he doesn't have any backing on this by the rules as it doesn't fall under any of the 5 correctable errors.

This is how I will handle this from now on. First time, I will wait until next dead ball to call the player over and warn him (unless you can consider this a violation to stop the play dead). If he continues, I will call a blocking charge the next two times. If he does it once more after that then I will T him up.

What do you guys think? I would hate for a kid to foul out when theoretically he would probably be fouling out and not fouling period (flopping without contact). So I was thinking, a "3 strikes and you're out" moment... Warn and two chances to clean it up with just a simple foul.

The phrase "making up your own rules" comes to mind..........again.

Here's my recommendation. If you see any contact, I'd be willing to accept a blocking foul on this.
But I prefer a warning.

Just last week, I had a kid pull this. I was C, and as we were heading the other way I go this attention and told him not to do it again. He pretended he didn't know what I was talking about, but he didn't do it again.

If, after one warning, he does it again, ring him up. It'll stop.

I would normally ignore these errant pronouncements save for the fact that you are 'representing' every official who walks on a court. I strongly suggest you follow up on your stated desire to hang up your whistle, and that you do so immediately. How can you suggest such a faulty course of action that has absolutely no basis in any rules set extant. The proper treatment for flopping is clearly delineated in the citations presented throughout this thread. You need to learn how to be more detached in the execution of you officiating responsibilities. Leave your emotional baggage in the locker room and refrain from bringing your sh!t into OUR game.

You're just a coach, remember that :rolleyes:

Let me just say this, in some places, a block on this place is an acceptable way to put a stop to it. Personally, if I were to do it that way, I'd accompany it with a warning to the player letting him know why I called it. Next one is a T.

The rulebook ain't one of them.

True, but the rule book doesn't advocate using advantage to determine palming or three seconds; nor does it advocate taking 15 seconds to get to 10 on free throw.

There are other regional practices not explicitly allowed by rule, either.

Good point, but all these thing involve varying degrees of ignoring things that happened. Calling something that didn't happen, imo, is considerably more serious.

Like calling OOB on green when they committed a small foul on white causing white to knock it OOB?

Working in one of the areas where officials call a block on a flop, I agree with your claim.

That said, I don't like the call. For one thing, with no contact it's just not a personal foul, and block is the wrong call. For another, you might end up punishing the offense if they might have had a shot and the foul interrupts the game.

I use a version of "wave, warn, whack." The first instance, when I see the player on the floor I'll wave "upward" in a "get up!" signal. The purpose is to signal that I saw the whole play and the flopper ain't gonna get that call. Next time, I verbally warn the player and coach. Then whack.

I've found that just signaling that I saw what happened and passed on the "contact" usually sends a message and it doesn't happen again. This serves the same purpose as a warning (ending the behavior) without slowing the game.

If a verbal warning is necessary, I find that including the coach lays the groundwork if I have to give a T.

Some of you might find that this method has one layer of warning too many (or wouldn't bother with the coach). I understand -- the method certainly isn't in the manual -- but my rationale for it is that nobody calls that T around here, and nobody expects it. So if I'm going to call it, everybody in the gym needs to know that it's coming. YMMV.

Aren't you embarrassed that "just a coach" knows more about the rules than a legendary icon like you?

+1

If you call a block instead of the correct call, you're making up your own rules. Flopping, by definition, has no or incidental contact. It's faking being fouled. Blocking is a foul using illegal contact as the criteria. Completely different animals with completely different penalties.

In my experience, the people that advocate calling a block on this situation usually do so because they feel they will get less flak from the coach if they make that call. That's the wrong reason to make any call imo.

My motto is "If I'm gonna make a call, I might as well make the right one." :D

Then how could you advocate calling a block on a flop?:confused:

1) How could you possibly consider this a violation?

2) You don't need to wait for a dead ball to call him over and warn him. Use the "get up" motion (similar to "play on" in soccer, I think) and orally tell him "don't flop."

3) What's a "blocking charge?" Why would you do it two times, and then T? How do you answer the question "Why is this play any different from the first 3 plays?"

I don't advocate it; but I understand some locales prefer it done this way. I've never called a block on this. I no-call it when the player falls with marginal contact. 88% of the time the coach gets the message without me saying a word, and yells at his player to stay in there. 11% off the time, the coach says nothing. The other 1%, I ignore.

If I worked in a locale who wanted it done with a blocking call, they'd only get one and it would come with a verbal warning to the coach as I reported the foul.

While I don't like the idea of calling a phantom foul here, I'm not going to tell an official to go against the accepted practice in his area; no matter how stoopid I think that practice may be.

Statistical Margin Of Error ???
 

You could have done this a lot faster if you had used a slide rule.

Nah, it's much quicker just to make the stats up on the spot.

Is it the accepted practice in your area?

I don't think I've heard of any area recommending that their officials call a block instead of a "T" for flopping. The usual practice seems to be "warn & whack" afaik, especially after the POE's that have come out.

But then again, I've led a sheltered life....

I'm all for this one. However, there is another association near me who reportedly has the policy that as long as the defense knocks it out, there is no foul. Period. Kinda like partially blocking a punt and not drawing a flag. As long as you get a small piece of the ball, you can take as much of the kicker as you want along with it.

Negative, and I could be wrong about whether it's the accepted practice anywhere. it wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong on this board. Won't be the last, either, given how quickly I tend to open my mouth.

Thanks, Yogi
 

"Bas(k)e(t)ball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."

Let me begin with the cliche: "Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils." Then let me follow with another cliche: "Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right." As a young and learning official, I am bombarded by both good insight and bad insight, but all in all, rules need to be upheld. I would hope that an associate of mine would not sit back and allow me to do something that was blatantly wrong. I wonder how this "practice in his area" became "accepted..." I'm pretty sure the rules of basketball are consistent throughout the game. I assume you know this.

Last thing, basketball is 1 contest with 3 teams on the court: The home team, visiting team, and our team. Don't put BS in the game, and don't let your partner.

John W. Adams
National Coordinator of Men's Basketball Officials, NCAA

Note from the Mens National Coordinator <hr style="color: rgb(69, 74, 77); background-color: rgb(69, 74, 77);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> Beginning on Thanksgiving Day and ending late Sunday evening I attended in person and watched all or part of over 20 games. Here are some observations worth sharing with you.

1. I noticed an increase in incorrect blocking calls at or near the basket but NOT in the restricted area. Officials seem to be defaulting to a blocking foul any time there is contact at or near the basket. If the play doesn't involve a secondary defender "under the basket", officiate the play like any basketball play.

2. I witnessed entirely too many "no calls" on illegal contact and crashes at the basket. The #1 Point of Emphasis is Charge/Block/Player Control Fouls at the Basket. When illegal contact occurs we need a whistle on the play. The days of "passing" on these types of plays are behind us.

3. There seems to be an epidemic of "flopping" on both contact in the low post and on drives to the basket. If the "flopper" interferes with the rhythm, speed, balance or quickness of his opponent, call the foul.

...

From Bulletin #2 this season:

1. We are very disappointed with the number of hard contact plays at or near the basket that are going uncalled. One of the three Points of Emphasis this year is charge/block/player control fouls. If illegal contact occurs at or near the basket, you no longer have the option of "passing" on this play. If it is the opinion of the official that the defender "flopped" on the play, that official should use the next opportunity to inform the offending player that if he flops again, the official will call a blocking foul on him. Let's stop motioning to a defender to "get up off the floor". See the play start, develop and finish, and referee the contact.

Interesting, he doesn't state it clearly, but it seems to imply that a flop without contact should be called a block. It seems odd for Adams to be advocating a call that is incorrect by rule, am I reading this incorrectly? Maybe he's only referring to flops that involve contact.

I think he is referring to flops that cause contact.

That being said...MOst flops have some sort of contact, feet tangled, minor tripping, etc... since it was a flop and the person causes a saefty issue (OP) then the minor contact is more than incidental.

Personally this is where I would rather see NFHS adopt the NBA rule on Ts. It is one shot and play from POI. I think officials would be more likely to call a T if the possible swing is not 4 or 5 points...

I don't care who said it, this is bogus.

I think Kelvin's thoughts here are right on, and I was trying to figure out how to say it before. On a flop, my threshold for advantage is going to drop significantly due to safety concerns (sort of like protecting the shooter), so it won't take much contact at all in order to draw a blocking foul.

I've asked around this weekend, and all the officials I've asked, right here in Pennsylvania, disagree completely. Once the free throws have been taken, they wouldn't wipe off the foul and the free throws. Some of them have even done state tournaments! I agree as well, FWIW. So please don't pretend to speak for the whole Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If it causes contact, then by definition it isn't a flop.

You're talking about fouls, not flops. By definition, "flops" have no contact or incidental contact and you do not have rules backing to call a personal foul when there is no contact or incidental contact.

If the minor contact is more than incidental, then it is a foul for illegal contact--exactly the same as we call any other contact that is more than incidental.

If the contact caused a safety issue and the contact is more than incidental, then it is NOT a flop and should be called accordingly.

This came from a FED POE in the 2004-05 rulebook-
'Flopping'- the defensive player or screener acting as though he or she has been charged by an opponent, when in fact he or she has not been, definitely has an impact on the game. It is detrimental to the best interests of basketball. The "actor" wants to create the false impression that he or she has been fouled in the charging/guarding situation, or while he or she is screening when in either case there is no contact or incidental contact. The 'actor' falls to the court as though he or she were knocked down by the force of the contact. Those actions are designed to have a foul charged to the opponent- a foul not deserved. The 'flop' also incites spectators. The rules are in place to deal with such activity and must be enforced. A technical foul is charged to the actor in ALL cases. Coaches can have a positive impact by appropriately dealing with players who fake being fouled. It is not part of the game. Officials must penalize the act.

I don't know if the FED could define 'flops' better than that for us.

And if you call a blocking foul for illegal contact, you never had a flop in the first place. You had a personal foul for illegal contact.

They're completely separate acts and are treated and penalized as such under NFHS rules.

Just want to make sure that everyone is aware of that.....

yes!!!!

From the OP it sounds like this kid had no clue what was going on. I would have gone to the head coach and told him what you were seeing and get them to correct it. If he went down again like that, call the T. It is a safety issue which is why the penalty is severe.

I actually got trapped into calling this T a long time ago. My partner gave a kid a formal warning for flopping. I got by the coach and told him what that was about (I had been trying to get over and explain it to him before the warning, but darn 2 man didn't get me there). Sure enough, early in the second half, after I had explained the warning to the coach, the kid took a dive right in front of me. I didn't even hesitate. As I reported, the coach started to complain, I just said, "That's exactly the play we talked about before halftime, you knew it was coming." He had nothing else to say on the matter.

my 2 1/2 cents
 

Representing, here is my thoughts on your situation.
Like most of the posters here have said, you must bust the flops early. If you don’t, as you have witnessed, someone will get hurt. Frankly, if that was my kid that got hurt, you would have gotten more than just a snicker from me.
With flops you need to at least warn the first time. If there is any contact whatsoever, call the block. If you warn, do so immediately and make sure your partner and the coach know you warned so when the T comes it’s no surprise. Odds are it will stop immediately.

Regarding the T you gave: One may have had to been there, but I don’t think a snicker merits a T. You have to have a bit thicker skin than this to officiate. But maybe there was more to it than that, I don’t know. But based on what you said, I don’t have a T here. If you were giving the T based on the assumed AC being on the court, again this is iffy. True, he’s not supposed to be there unless he was beckoned, but if he is there for the best interest of the kid and just snickered…I dunno.

Regarding the retraction of the T: As everyone else has stated, this is not a correctable error and the free throws cannot be wiped. You gave an unsporting T. Regardless of who you gave it to, you judged the act as unsporting and that is unchangeable. Just like you would judge any contact as a personal foul, you can’t change that. Now, you may have applied this T incorrectly just like you could incorrectly apply a personal foul. For example, you get the number wrong on a hand check foul by reporting white 21. The table records the foul and then tells you white 21 is not currently on the court. You then say, my bad, it’s actually white 12. The table then fixes the mistake in the book and off we go.

What I believe your options are with the T is when you found out that this person was not the AC but instead a father and the score keeper, you could have simple changed the direct T on the phantom AC to a team T. This, of course would negate the indirect on the coach. IMHO

I don’t think you should hang up your whistle, but I do think you need a bit thicker skin and to mature your judgment. You obviously want to improve, so dive into the rules more vigorously and you absolutely must listen to other officials input with humility. I’m not saying that you should agree with everything you hear. But definitely consider and weigh everything you hear.

Why would you do that?:confused:

Your partner gave the warning. If the coach wants an explanation, let your partner give it to him. It was his call to explain, not yours.

If the coach asks, just say "It's a warning for flopping. My partner will explain it to you if you want, when he gets a chance." If the coach doesn't ask, leave it alone.