How do you handle a threat?

[hugheske44]

I had my first threat tonight, after 6yrs doing this I dont know if thats good or bad. My question is how do I handle it, if at all? Backstory:

GV, close game til half time, home team comes out shoots some 3s and gets ahead by 20+. 4 Minutes to go in the 4th, home team girl is on the ground with the ball, visitor runs into her trying to get the ball, I call the foul. Another visiting player screams "How is that a foul" loudly enough for the entire gym to hear. I give her a T. All of a sudden some the crowd starts yelling. I dont listen to most of it, Im pretty good at that usually. Then I start hearing, "Do you want a speeding ticket in Taylor?" Which is a nearby city(not the city we were in). About 2 minutes to go, a man and woman are exiting the gym and walk along the endline where Im inbounding the ball and start telling me "You suck, worst ref I ever saw", etc. I gave eye contact but saw they were leaving so let the game continue. The woman stops at the door about 20ft away and continues to yell at me, asking me what Im going to do about it. I ignore again, game ends. She is still at the door yelling at me, I head to the door on the other side of the gym, ignoring her.

I tell game management while we are walking to the officials room that I had a woman threaten me, he just said "oh really". So we go to change and my partner wants to leave. I tell him the woman is probably waiting for me. He tells me its okay we will walk out together. So I agree and sure enough shes there. As Im walking by her I do not make eye contact, she asks me what my name is. My partner steps between us and Im not sure what he said, but I kept walking. She yells to me "Dont worry, Ill find out".

Im sure the coach will have no problem giving out my name, hes not a fan of me. Hes not a fan of any refs. My worry is they will somehow get my name and being a police officer he may be able to get my information on where I live. I am hoping cooler heads prevail, but Im wondering if I should be proactive on this?

Please do not flame me. I am coming here for help on what to do better next time and what my next steps should be. Thanks in advance~

[Adam]

I can tell you if a police officer uses their access to get information on you for this purpose, he or she is risking their job. That's not to say it won't happen, but the risk is a lot higher than any personal satisfaction they might gain.

If you're really concerned, I would file a complaint with the Taylor police department. Chances are, it was just a lot of bluster, but it was still unprofessional, and if it really was a local police officer from that town, it needs to be reported.

In the future, don't make eye contact.

I would also report this to their AD, your assigner, the state, and anyone else who might have jurisdiction.

[hugheske44]

Thank you. I also shouldve asked this question. I have a JV game at that school on Friday this week, should I officiate it? Or should I get a replacement for the sake of saving the possibilities of running into them again?~

[Adam]

Originally Posted by hugheske44

Thank you. I also shouldve asked this question. I have a JV game at that school on Friday this week, should I officiate it? Or should I get a replacement for the sake of saving the possibilities of running into them again?~

Personally, I wouldn't think twice about going there. Chances are, the hot head fans won't remember you. Do you get these games from an assigner, or directly from the AD?

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by hugheske44

I have a JV game at that school on Friday this week, should I officiate it?

Officiate it. Never let the terrorists win.

[chartrusepengui]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Officiate it. Never let the terrorists win.

+1 - if you don't go back for the JV game - they win and I HATE letting THEM win!

[26 Year Gap]

I had a guy harass me between games at an AAU tournament. I spoke to the director, pointed the guy out in the stands, and said if he said anything else, to please escort him out. I don't think he even cheered during the next game, plus he had the embarrassment of the director giving him the stern warning in front of his friends AND he had to watch his favorite team get stomped again.

In a single game, I would just have had game management escort the fan out. Don't interact with the fans. You have been given a lot of great advice. Have fun Friday night.

[JFlores]

I am sure most of us have been there at one point in our careers, I have only been doing this 4 years and its happen atleast twice that I can remember.

What you need to do is develop a strong pimp hand (back hand) and next time someone gets out of place, just a quick strike or you can always say "Lets take this outside after the game".

Ok all seriousness just be aware of your surroundings and have site manager remove over the top fans, I know here in Texas we have uniformed police officers at every game for said instances.

[Upward ref]

Originally Posted by hugheske44

Thank you. I also shouldve asked this question. I have a JV game at that school on Friday this week, should I officiate it? Or should I get a replacement for the sake of saving the possibilities of running into them again?~

I'm afraid I'm a little more vindictive on personal threats , although I'm a brand new ref who does actually stink sometimes (because of lack of experience) . Having said that I'll take all criticism and advice with a grain of salt. However ; in this situation I personnaly would be going straight to the police station if I were to recieve any further threats and clear the air at their own house ! Were I not to recieve assurances (and apologies) my next call would be to State police (depending on the threats),whom I've found to be very professional and helpful as well as having little tolerance of any abuse of authority. just my own 2 cents. I still wouldnt speed for sure though !

[Raymond]

I always acknowledge and/or speak to the law enforcement officers and on-site security at my games. Kind of a sign to anybody paying attention that we are on the same team.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

I always acknowledge and/or speak to the law enforcement officers at my games. Kind of a sign to anybody paying attention that we are on the same team.

Well, you both do have whistles.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Upward ref

I'm afraid I'm a little more vindictive on personal threats , although I'm a brand new ref who does actually stink sometimes (because of lack of experience) . Having said that I'll take all criticism and advice with a grain of salt. However ; in this situation I personnaly would be going straight to the police station if I were to recieve any further threats and clear the air at their own house ! Were I not to recieve assurances (and apologies) my next call would be to State police (depending on the threats),whom I've found to be very professional and helpful as well as having little tolerance of any abuse of authority. just my own 2 cents. I still wouldnt speed for sure though !

We need more officials with this attitude imo. There's one heckuva difference between verbal abuse and a threat. One is part of our job; the other one never is. An official should never put up with being threatened.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Upward ref

I'm afraid I'm a little more vindictive on personal threats , although I'm a brand new ref who does actually stink sometimes (because of lack of experience) . Having said that I'll take all criticism and advice with a grain of salt. However ; in this situation I personnaly would be going straight to the police station if I were to recieve any further threats and clear the air at their own house ! Were I not to recieve assurances (and apologies) my next call would be to State police (depending on the threats),whom I've found to be very professional and helpful as well as having little tolerance of any abuse of authority. just my own 2 cents. I still wouldnt speed for sure though !

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

We need more officials with this attitude imo. There's one heckuva difference between verbal abuse and a threat. One is part of our job; the other one never is. An official should never put up with being threatened.

Fortunately here (Upward and I are in the same association) the LEO presense is very prominent at our public school games. Out in the counties, not so strong.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by hugheske44

I had my first threat tonight, after 6yrs doing this I dont know if thats good or bad. My question is how do I handle it, if at all? Backstory:

GV, close game til half time, home team comes out shoots some 3s and gets ahead by 20+. 4 Minutes to go in the 4th, home team girl is on the ground with the ball, visitor runs into her trying to get the ball, I call the foul. Another visiting player screams "How is that a foul" loudly enough for the entire gym to hear. I give her a T. All of a sudden some the crowd starts yelling. I dont listen to most of it, Im pretty good at that usually. Then I start hearing, "Do you want a speeding ticket in Taylor?" Which is a nearby city(not the city we were in). About 2 minutes to go, a man and woman are exiting the gym and walk along the endline where Im inbounding the ball and start telling me "You suck, worst ref I ever saw", etc. I gave eye contact but saw they were leaving so let the game continue. The woman stops at the door about 20ft away and continues to yell at me, asking me what Im going to do about it. I ignore again, game ends. She is still at the door yelling at me, I head to the door on the other side of the gym, ignoring her.

I tell game management while we are walking to the officials room that I had a woman threaten me, he just said "oh really". So we go to change and my partner wants to leave. I tell him the woman is probably waiting for me. He tells me its okay we will walk out together. So I agree and sure enough shes there. As Im walking by her I do not make eye contact, she asks me what my name is. My partner steps between us and Im not sure what he said, but I kept walking. She yells to me "Dont worry, Ill find out".

Im sure the coach will have no problem giving out my name, hes not a fan of me. Hes not a fan of any refs. My worry is they will somehow get my name and being a police officer he may be able to get my information on where I live. I am hoping cooler heads prevail, but Im wondering if I should be proactive on this?

Please do not flame me. I am coming here for help on what to do better next time and what my next steps should be. Thanks in advance~

I'd definitely be filing a complaint.

When she yells, "Dont worry, Ill find out", I would have replied "How" and let her hang herself.

[hugheske44]

I get my games from an assignor. I emailed him already, tomorrow I will contact the AD at the school. Im one of the few female officials in our area, so Im sure they will recognize me. Im hoping since I will be officiating the JV game there will be nothing said.~