Ejection ...

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by tref

If I'm not mistaken, the coach made that comment AFTER receiving his initial T.

You are mistaken. The coach got his initial "T" for telling Billy that he and his partner had done a lousy job all night. And he made that derogatory comment to Billy AFTER being warned. And AFTER getting his first "T" for making that derogatory comment, that coach then continued to complain and refused to shut up, earning himself the second "T".

Hey, if you want to ignore crap like that, be my guest.

If a coach makes a comment to you, as in Billy's sitch, you have 3 options. You can ignore the comment, issue a warning or hand out an immediate "T". And the option that you choose depends solely on your personal tolerance level. And I don't have a problem with that either; that's the way it should be. Pick what you think is best for that situation. But, big "but", if you do warn someone, then you HAVE to damnwell do something if the person that was warned simply ignores that warning and continues doing what he was just warned to stop doing.

If you want to ignore comments, fine. As I said, I don't have a problem with that; it's a personal choice dependant on the behavioral line that each individual official sets. But if you do warn someone, then you HAVE to follow through if that warning is ignored. That's my point. And that's why I think that Billy was completely justified in handing out the first technical foul. He chose to warn the coach(in a fairly benign, non-threatening innocuous manner btw). The coach ignored the warning and made a personal and derogatory remark. Billy had no choice imo but to follow through with his warning.