Coach's Question, Need Help Responding

[jTheUmp]

I don't really get it either... I'll take the first game that's offered to me by any assigner that will offer me games on any date that I have open. Girls, boys, Jr High, rec league, whatever.

But then again, I'm only a second-year basketball official, so I rather doubt that I'm considered one of the "top officials" anyway.

At least, not yet. But I'm working on it.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

I don't really get it either... I'll take the first game that's offered to me by any assigner that will offer me games on any date that I have open. Girls, boys, Jr High, rec league, whatever.

But then again, I'm only a second-year basketball official, so I rather doubt that I'm considered one of the "top officials" anyway.

At least, not yet. But I'm working on it.

Well you obviously do not work in a system like mine. Every level and every conference has an assignor. You have to accept games from different sources and the higher you go up they do not care that you are working levels below, but if you are not available when they want you, they will find someone else. So often officials have to choose or they have to adhere to the standards of that assignor.

Peace

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Well you obviously do not work in a system like mine. Every level and every conference has an assignor. You have to accept games from different sources and the higher you go up they do not care that you are working levels below, but if you are not available when they want you, they will find someone else. So often officials have to choose or they have to adhere to the standards of that assignor.

Peace

Nope. Our association gets all of/a share of the games from a handful of conferences, at all levels from Jr High up to Varsity, and then our assigner doles them out to the officials in our association based upon experience, ability, availability, willingness to travel, how many times you've worked a game for that school already, etc.

I also do some rec league stuff, with a different assignor, and some travel-team stuff with 2 different assignors. I've told all four of them that the first assigner to schedule me for a game is the assignor whose game I will be working on that day.

[Texas Aggie]

you could make a Title IX case here

No, you can't. I didn't bother reading your reasoning since the conclusion you have here is absurd. We as officials don't take federal funds. There's also a number of other statute specific qualifiers that I don't recall off the top of my head.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Actually, you could make a Title IX case here...

I don't think you can. The independent contractor relationship allows each and every official to take or reject any specific assignment....for whatever reason. To say this is a title IX issue would essentially require that specific officials apply for jobs they do not want or to accept jobs they didn't do not want and/or didn't apply for. Those types of things can't be required of independent contractors. If we were employees, it might be different.

The assignors are just agents who are matching officials with the games....and within the constraints of independent contractor laws. While they can exert influence on officials to work game A in order to get game B, the two are really seperate.....but the assignor might not call them the next time.

[tref]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

I don't think you can. The independent contractor relationship allows each and every official to take or reject any specific assignment....for whatever reason. To say this is a title IX issue would essentially require that specific officials apply for jobs they do not want or to accept jobs they didn't do not want and/or didn't apply for. Those types of things can't be required of independent contractors. If we were employees, it might be different.

The assignors are just agents who are matching officials with the games....and within the constraints of independent contractor laws. While they can exert influence on officials to work game A in order to get game B, the two are really seperate.....but the assignor might not call them the next time.

+1

so basically, we reserve the right...

[BayStateRef]

I am not a lawyer, but....

The Title IX responsibility is with the schools. If a player (or coach or parent...) believes a girl is not getting an "equal opportunity" because the officiating is not equal on the girls' side, it is not the assignor or official that will be sued...it will be the school district.

There is nothing that requires the school district to use assignors (and I know that in some states, they do not). And there is nothing that requires officials to work for assignors. But if such a lawsuit were to proceed...and if some court found merit in the contention, then it would be up to the school district to come up with a remedy.

I would be quite interested in hearing how school districts (or leagues) would decide who are the "better" officials. But I also believe that it can be done. One of my high school assignors has made it a priority to find better officials for a girls league. He was aggressively recruited officials who he believes are "better" and has opted not to re-hire officials that he believes are not good enough. The coaches and ADs have told him they have noticed an improvement in the quality of officials they have seen over the last few years.

As in any open market, this assignor has to compete with other assignors for the "better" officials. But it can be done.

[KJUmp]

Our state has two separate HS boards, one for boys and one for girls, each with it's own assignor. Most officials on the boy's board are also on the girl's board, but the girl's board does have a high number of officials who are on the girl's board only.

[Rich]

This type of question all depends on who does your assigning.

Around here I take games from athletic directors (non-conference) and commissioners (conference). If I don't want to work girls games, there would be some assignors that wouldn't assign me any games. That's the choice of that assignor.

Same thing with the schools.

I choose to work both, but many around here work only boys games. It's really up to the officials and the hiring assignors. Nobody can force an official around here to work a girls game if they do not want to.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by BayStateRef

I am not a lawyer, but....

The Title IX responsibility is with the schools. If a player (or coach or parent...) believes a girl is not getting an "equal opportunity" because the officiating is not equal on the girls' side, it is not the assignor or official that will be sued...it will be the school district.

There is nothing that requires the school district to use assignors (and I know that in some states, they do not). And there is nothing that requires officials to work for assignors. But if such a lawsuit were to proceed...and if some court found merit in the contention, then it would be up to the school district to come up with a remedy.

I agree. The burden is on the school district to provide equal quality officials, and if they use assignors they will pass that burden along to assignors. Either way, any school or state might feel obligated to follow Kentucky and require officials to do both.

As an independent contractor, you're free to accept the terms of the contract offered, or work somewhere else.

Right now, Ohio requires doing some number of varsity girls games to be eligible for the girls post-season, and the same number of varsity boys games to be eligible for the boys post-season.

[BLydic]

Originally Posted by PIAA REF

these 2 coaches brought up was why is it that they see top notch officials not doing Varsity Girls...

There are many reasons why. Unless you know about all of them first hand, why would you even consider answering the question? If these same coaches know the assignor, which I'm sure they do, then I would direct them to contact that person. He/she is making the decision to use or not use certain officials on their games.

[just another ref]

Who draws the line between "top notch" and the rest of the field?