Concern about judgment
 

Had this situation tonight, your .02 appreciated.

We have 0:08 left in the 4th quarter, A is down 1. B misses a foul shot and the ball is being tipped all over the court. Finally A comes up with the ball with :04 left near mid court and we have a 2 on 1 for A.

Well, I am T, and I notice A3 is on the ground, and hurt. It was not obvious he was hurt at first, but he tried and didn't get up and reached for his back. I let the play go, A picks up a charge call as the game ends.

I saw everything in the play, I saw the kid go down and have trouble getting up, I saw the ball going down court, and I chose to "play the advantage" and let the play go.

There was no foul, a kid got hurt hustling and fighting for the ball.

The question is rather obvious at this point: Was I right to let the play go, or should I have stopped it? In my judgment, A3 was not severely hurt, unconscious, and he was away from the play or any other players. He was in no danger of being hurt worse. So, I let the play go.

The alternative is kill the play, but instead of a 2 on 1, they get the ball just past half court, with somewhere around :02 or :03 left in the game, and possibly less, against a set defense. But in these days of safety first that infects our society, was my judgment correct?

Thanks for your opinions.

Sounds good to me. 4 more seconds are unlikely to make or break the injury.

It sounds like you did the right thing.
The only thing I would MAYBE point out is what would have happened if A made the shot to win the game? Would the player on the ground then been in danger of being injured by fans/players etc coming onto the court? I am not sure it is still enough of a reason to stop the action, but something to consider in the 'aftermath'. One would HOPE that Team A's bench was aware and would be Johnny On The Spot if that were to happen

Infects? :eek: That's hardly the word that I'd use when discussing the safety and well-being of any player.

It's a judgment call that can only be made by the official responsible for making that judgment. Always err on the side of the player's well-being. Then trust your judgment and don't second-guess yourself.

You did the right thing,
the play was going away from the injured player
and your judgment was that he was not in danger.

Controversial, yes, somewhat....
 

You are right, that is a loaded term and I used it. when I started officiating 30+ years ago this call is a "no brainer". Now our society has changed a lot. I'd run through the data for you but that is way OT.

That's how I see things these days, and I believe I'm justified in saying it.

There is no apparent safety concern that would cause me to kill the play as you describe it.

I wouldn't have killed it either. I can imagine the uproar if you had.

+1

sounds like you did well.

Even it appears they may be injured somewhat badly, do you think 3-4 seconds might make a difference? Typical basketball injuries are ankles and knees and seconds just don't matter. Only way I'm killing that play is if they are in danger or the injury is simply shocking (open fracture, bleeding profusely, etc.)

Huh?

This call hasn't changed one bit imo over the last 30 years. And neither has the philosophy imo either. We were always supposed to use our best judgment to ensure player safety and well-being.

"Infect" kinda sounds to me like you think it's a bad idea to put player safety first. I can't agree with that.