Intentional or excessive intentional

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

I close down and try to get in between the 2 players on the floor to keep anything from escalating.

If my partner has great position with the play coming right at him, I have to trust him. I may have blown my whistle but I'm gonna let my partner take the call. If he doesn't want to go with intentional for excessive contact, then he's the one that has to explain it later if an evaluator thought that should have been the correct call.

You?

Thank you, sir. That is precisely what I did. For the record, I did blow my whistle and put a fist up as well, but dropped when I saw that my partner had a call. I felt that the foul was clearly an intentional, but that it was my partner's decision to make as it right in front of him.

This was a person who I had never officiated with before as he was from another area.

This play has been talked about quite a bit in my area as it took place in a State Championship game. That talk has made me question my actions for several months now. It is nice to hear that you support my decision to let him take care of his business.

Our third, who was very unhappy with the decision, came all the way down the court from T to talk with the calling official. He informed him that he could elevate that to an intentional. The L responded that the defender made a play for the ball (by rule not something which prevents the defender from being charged with an X) and therefore he didn't wish to go intentional. I stayed out of that conversation. I caught serious flak for my inaction.

Anyway, as I wrote I've been mulling this over for several months now and this thread provided me with the perfect opportunity to get a straight opinion from someone who has no stake in the matter. Thanks.