Dishonesty

Jurassic Referee · #1 (**permalink**) Thu Nov 18, 2010, 01:49pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bainsey

A fellow official and I were recently talking about the dishonest things we hear from players and coaches. I don't hear such dishonesty very often, but it tends to make me angry pretty quickly on those rare occasions. (I won't rule out the possibility that people are being more dishonest than I think.)

What are some examples of dishonest behavior (from deception to outright lies) you can share, and how do you handle such things?

Players and coaches have been trying to influence us to give 'em an advantage not meant by rule since Naismith hung his first peach basket. It's just part of the game. And we have ample rules and procedures available to us to deal with their attempts. How they are handled usually depends on the line that each officials sets as to how much they'll let let the coaches/players get away with while trying to work us before doing something about it. And even though different officials might handle a similar situation completely differently, we should still judge the success of their individual method by the results. Iow, was the game kept under control and play not affected in any way?

Having said that, what any official should NEVER do when somebody is working them is to EVER get angry about it. It's our job to deal with the inevitable in a passionless, even-handed and neutral manner. Someone in the building has to be in control at all times and they pay us to be that someone. If you're losing your temper, then you ain't that "someone".

JMO.

Indianaref · #2 (**permalink**) Thu Nov 18, 2010, 01:59pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Players and coaches have been trying to influence us to give 'em an advantage not meant by rule since Naismith hung his first peach basket. It's just part of the game. And we have ample rules and procedures available to us to deal with their attempts. How they are handled usually depends on the line that each officials sets as to how much they'll let let the coaches/players get away with while trying to work us before doing something about it. And even though different officials might handle a similar situation completely differently, we should still judge the success of their individual method by the results. Iow, was the game kept under control and play not affected in any way?

Having said that, what any official should NEVER do when somebody is working them is to EVER get angry about it. It's our job to deal with the inevitable in a passionless, even-handed and neutral manner. Someone in the building has to be in control at all times and they pay us to be that someone. If you're losing your temper, then you ain't that "someone".

JMO.

As always, +1. Someone has to be the adult on the floor, hopefully it's the official(s).

mbyron · #3 (**permalink**) Thu Nov 18, 2010, 02:07pm

Dealing with a coach who's pushing the line of unsporting behavior is part of the 5% of officiating that really distinguishes the great officials. No single way of addressing it is right for everyone: some will defuse the situation with humor, some will speak to the coach forthrightly and calmly, some will back the coach down with a warning.

Getting angry does not deal with coach behavior, but is a symptom of getting worked and a response that goes away once one deals properly with the behavior.