Drunken Referree

[Reffing Rev.]

Originally Posted by Juulie Downs

I would definitely find a way to get him off the floor as soon as I detected some sort of on going impairment.

My only question to the OP, are you sure the problem was drinking and not some other health issue? A stroke can cause similar behaviors, as can certain other chemical imbalances such as very low blood sugar, and certain hormone imbalances that can develop quickly.

Regardless of the reason, the person should NOT be reffing and even in 2-whistle, should leave.

At first I thought maybe he had a stroke too. Doctor checked him out and he ended up back in the bleachers in street clothes for the 2nd half of the boys game. Which may or may not rule out serious medical concerns. Today I was working a JV tourney and one of the other guys working the tourney had worked the JV games last night. He said he had smelled a little liquor in the lockerroom (one of those, come to think of it maybe he'd been drinking, kind of thoughts). The 3rd guy working with us today is a vet around these parts, I just moved here last year and the other guy just started last year. I guess the ref in question in the OP had a problem with the bottle about 5 years ago, lost his license, got cleaned up and was making a comeback.