baiting a T?

[DownTownTonyBrown]

As Chuck and a couple of other have said, don't immediately respond. These type of emotional situations will diffuse within a second or two. If you pay attention to it, you add to the player's frustration and the only result from that is exactly what happend... a technical foul. It sounds as though you were justified in both of your calls but by being there after the initial call, you maintained, if not created, the situation that resulted in a technical.

If you feel the player is sincere and not just whining, try saying something along these lines, "I've got to report this foul. Come with me and we will talk about it."

If he follows you, then finish your report and explain to him why it was ruled an intentional foul (has nothing to do with severity). If he doesn't follow you, then we're done. DON'T GO BACK AND FIND HIM NOW. You will create the same situation as before and everytime he will loose..... and therefore you also loose.

The calls you make on the floor should always be matter-of-fact and never confrontational. We are not officials because we like to fight with players; don't create a confrontation. Just report the facts.

[Edited by DownTownTonyBrown on Nov 18th, 2002 at 11:03 AM]