Coach's Question, Need Help Responding

[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 RichMSN

Nobody can force an official around here to work a girls game if they do not want to.

True, but it might come to the point where those unwilling to work girls games won't be offered boys games. That doesn't constitute "force," though they will have a choice to make.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by mbyron

True, but it might come to the point where those unwilling to work girls games won't be offered boys games. That doesn't constitute "force," though they will have a choice to make.

That already does happen with some commissioners. And some officials simply choose not to work those conferences.

I don't really care one way or another, although I will be the first to admit that I'm forced to call a different game in 90% of my girls games than I call during the boys games. The girls are simply not athletic enough to play through what would easily be considered incidental contact in a vast majority of boys games. I consider myself able to adjust to the differences in the games, although I probably am not the best judge of how well I do that.

[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.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by mbyron

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.

You can make a requirement all you want, that does not mean that you will automatically get the same people. What you might do is get certain people to bow out of your post season. Or they will not give the effort just to work the post season they want to. Bad policy all the way around.

Peace