Memorial Game

[JugglingReferee]

Hello All,

Here's the bg:

I'm officiating a memorial game. A student, and good basketball player, was killed last summer in an auto accident. He was very well liked by everyone, and they decided to hold a memorial game in his name.

So I'm the "senior" official in the game, as our board sometimes refers. (This just means that the other official has less experience.)

The home team got off to an early lead, and was up about 15 points for most of the game. The crowd was kinda into it, and kinda not. I've done a few of these "special games" in the past, and when the crowd is really into it, the atmosphere is AMAZING!

So in the third, I decide that I'm going to influence slightly the game. Here's the first influence that I did. Home team not up by only 9 jacks up a three. The player and I get along very well, as I know his whole family. So the 3 goes up, and he is fouled, but I would have ruled it after the shot. The shot misses. I decide not to call it (it wasn't a huge foul, but had it been a regular high school season game, I would have called it) so that the team losing by 9 now has possession.

Early fourth quarter: now a 7 point game, and the visiting team has the ball in the key. A player, among everyone, goes up and gets blocked. However, there is some body contact. Depending on the game, I might let it go, and I would have let it go normally in this game. However, I called it to give the visiting team 2 shots.

So, basically, I am admitting that I was not consistent on two calls. However, in the end, the visiting team ended up taking the lead with 2 minutes to go, obtained a 3 point lead with 1:05 to go, and the home team came back to win by 2 with 0:10 left.

But, the crowd was extremely into it. I mean, very much so. There was tonnes of cheering!

I'm just wondering if I stepped over a line with influencing a game?

What do you think?

[mick]

Originally posted by JugglingReferee
I'm just wondering if I stepped over a line with influencing a game?

What do you think?

JugglingReferee,
Because you questioned yourself, my answer is, yes it seems you did.
mick

[just another ref]

Originally posted by JugglingReferee
So in the third, I decide that I'm going to influence slightly the game.

Bad idea.

[canuckrefguy]

Slippery slope. Don't think I would have taken your path.

Other threads, such as one referring to one team being up by 60 and still pressing with its starters in, etc, have tackled this subject, with many different views, and no real "right answer" emerging.

Is it wrong to condemn your actions and give the okay to the guy who calls touch fouls on a team because they're still pressing with a 60 point lead? Maybe.

Others will weigh in on this, I'm sure.

[Paul LeBoutillier]

I'm with the other guys. Regardless of the game and whether it counts or not I don't think it's ever appropriate for an official to purposely influence the game.

[A Pennsylvania Coach]

Depends on the game. We have a fund-raising faculty vs senior game every year. We get a couple of officials to work the game but we talk to them ahead of time. Basically that any trickery that gets pulled they are to let it go. It is a completely different atmosphere then an actual game. It's more like a Globetrotters game. One of the seniors dunks by jumping off a guy's back. A coach sneaks off the bench to shoot a three then sneaks back on to the bench.

If the teams didn't arrange anything special with you ahead of time, you shouldn't do anything like you did, IMHO.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by JugglingReferee
So I'm the "senior" official in the game, as our board sometimes refers. (This just means that the other official has less experience.)

The home team got off to an early lead, and was up about 15 points for most of the game. The crowd was kinda into it, and kinda not. I've done a few of these "special games" in the past, and when the crowd is really into it, the atmosphere is AMAZING!

So in the third, I decide that I'm going to influence slightly the game.

Frankly, JugRef, I'm not sure what you mean by "deciding that I'm going to influence slightly the game." If you mean that you wanted to help decide who should win or lose, I think it was just plain wrong. But if you mean that you were trying to determine how tightly to call the game, or what to call and what to let go, why did you wait so long to decide? I need more explanation to "decide" my call.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by A Pennsylvania Coach
One of the seniors dunks by jumping off a guy's back.

Coach,don't ever play this game in Toledo,Ohio.That's TWO technical fouls there! One for the player assisting the other player,and another one for then dunking a dead ball.

True,MTD Sr.?

[JugglingReferee]

Thanks to all that replied.

To answer Juulie, "deciding to slightly influence the game" means that with the visitors consistently behind the home team, I decided to change two calls to get the crowd more into it. After all, this game was to celebrate the life of the player who was killed. There wasn't alot of cheering by the second half, so late in the 3rd... I didn't call the after-the-shot foul.

My intentions were to only make such a decision to help B get within say 6 points, or more (or less) depending on how much time was on the clock. As it happened, I called a foul (~ 5:45 left) that I might have passed on.

For canuckguyref, if a team is up 60, and they're still pressing, you're d*mn right I'm calling touch fouls. This is amateur athletics. There is no need for such unsportsmanship. Are they practising their press? Maybe. but they'd be better of pressing against a team that might actually beat the press.

Thanks everyone for your input.