Great point, and I personally make the differentiation between a "T" and a Flagrant/andor ejection. Despite my Mr Joviality persona, I used to be one that would rather tick off a coach more than help them out. This caused me more problems than not early on. Working with my mentor, the line I drew seems to work for me. Basically, if I give a T treat it like a foul, but anything more severe ask myself "Am I doing this to the coach, b/c I want to or b/c they deserve it." and/or "Will a neutral observer agree with my decision". While some may call that 'officiating scared' in my case it has really improved my game management and interaction skills

And you are correct about there being criminal verbal assault. However, in a sporting event, the bar is set rather high b/c of the nature of the environment. It is much lower in domestic violence cases or your local adult beverage consuming station.

I would only change it to, "would a neutral observer who knows everything I know agree with the call?" The simple fact is, sometimes coaches make comments that only we can hear that still have to be dealt with. The neutral observer in the stands may not hear it.
I just ask myself, "What would Bob do?"

agreed.

Fixed it for ya.....

crap, JR used blue font. I just lost about 4 bets.

Nope, the point that you made was that you wouldn't do a damn thing as an official about a coach saying sumthin' like that except maybe tell your partners. No "T"...no ejection...no nothing! And I don't think that anybody else that has responded so far has agreed with you. Shouldn't that tell you something?

Are you MTD Sr.'s evil spawn, by any chance? Trying to keep you on track relative to your original response back in post #4 of this thread is like trying to nail jello to a wall.

Rest assured it ain't gonna be a habit. It was used to make a point only. :)

The usage of blue font is idiotic imo.

And thus the frost in Hell quickly thawed!

I ask myself, "WWESHD?" (What Would Earl Strom Have Done?)

This is where I say I would "T" the coach. I will change that to more accurately say I would TOSS the coach. Hopefully, that will clear up any confusion on your part.
Also I stated under which other causes I would toss the coach and the player. So, it looks like according to my Post #4, there are actually some things that I would do.
As for being MTD's relative, since I am adopted you never know. Heck, I could be one of YOUR long lost relatives!!!

Yup, you're MTD Sr's illegitimate son, fer sure. Highlight something that's completely irrelevant and ignore the part that everybody is disagreeing with.

You can't do anything without a actual punch? He said-she said? Worrying about what a coach might say?

Lah me.......:rolleyes:

Still tryin' to figure out where my line is drawn: Those "questions" get the whack-a-mole, right?

For me, not by itself. But the ABS meter goes up incrementally with each one, and depending on the tone, volume, and antics I'll put a stop to it sooner or later.

Naw, any like you we drown at birth. Old family tradition.

I'll add "frequency" to mbyron's list of "depending on." Usually the "questions" get ignored like the statements, however. If it starts to become a regular thing, then politely tell him that it needs to stop.

This helps. Thanks.

So far (summer league) I've been going with the "What makes me uncomfortable" standard (nothing yet), in addition to what JR said about playing in an safe atmosphere that is free from threats, intimidation, and other junk. I know there are some absolutes (cussing, integrity, etc) about what we should whack, but I'm concerned about over-reacting... I've done pretty well so far in "turning down the heat" in situations by talking and using a smile with a sense of humor, but as I've said in other posts, this is a whole new world to me. I will take care of bidness in the obvious instances but am still learning that intensity and frequency balance.

During the summer one of my personal POEs has been game management, which for me means giving more attention to what's happening around the game as well. I've been trying to keep track of fouls, the score, and the possession arrow without having to ask the table. I'm not there yet, but I think I'm going in the right direction. Coaches have been pretty well-behaved and I've only had one incident with a parent. I didn't run him but he got the message and kept his mouth shut the rest of the game. AND he kept it shut the next day as well!

Y'all have been very helpful in my line coming into focus. I hope to make everyone here proud. :D

Thanks.