Yeah - that'll happen.

BTW - off topic - but I saw an incredibly funny bumper sticker today:

Support Our President
Bomb France

I dont think you owe him an apology, but I do think we would enjoy reading the email you sent him. Is that possible?

Here it is in its entirety.

Mr. Chandler - the article in The Advocate quoting you following your loss was posted on an internet discussion board for sports officials. As a 24 year veteran basketball official and a member of the National Association of Sports Officials, I must tell you I find your remarks regarding the officiating at your game to be unprofessional, insulting and ludicrous. Blaming the referees for the lack of skill of your players sends the message to those kids that they don't have to take responsibility for the consequences of their own actions.

Games are won and lost by the entirety of the play from start to finish, not by a few calls which, in your opinion, were not made properly. With the exception of rule interpretations, all calls made in a game are judgment calls and are extremely subjective. Officials are trained over the course of many years to make proper calls taking into consideration the principle of advantage/disadvantage.

A long time ago, I was told that, as an official, there may be someone in the gym who knows more about the game of basketball than I do (after all, John Wooden might be watching), but there is no one in the gym who knows more about how this game should be called than my partner and myself. There's a big difference.

If a teacher in my district made remarks similar to yours, at the least he would be disciplined, and at the most, suspended.

BTW - this guy just tried to call me!!!! Fortunately, I am allergic to speaking with coaches on the phone.

I think I would apply the philosophy I use when calling tough fouls: who initiated the contact?

If a coach at any level sees fit to PUBLICLY question the integrity (not the judgement, decision-making, or game management, but the integrity) of the officials, he deserves whatever venom happens to spew his way.

You reap what you sow.

I see the email that was sent to the coach as being fair and informative. It would have served the coach well to have backed off a minute before doing the interview or before replying to the email. Either way, I am sure he regrets making those comments.

Mark,

Your e-mail seems well-worded and fair to me. Can't wait to hear how your phone call goes. I'm sure he's calling to tell you he's reconsidered his views. :-)

Z

I as an official also have to agree, to be fair to the coach we should see your message to him, but most of all I believe it was very inappropriate to even email this coach. I am not going to waste my time writting a coach who complained about an official who cost him the game. They all feel that at one or more times throughout their carrer, it doesn't accomplish anything.

There is a fine line here, though.

I have no problem per se, with a coach who says "the officials cost us the game", which I always take as "we lost because the officials made bad calls".

What this coach suggested, was that the officials were biased against his team. That is not acceptable and cannot go unchallenged.

Depending on what was said in the email, of course. We, as officials, also have to exercise restraint. But given the fact that the officials would likely not be able to get a rebuttal "quote" in the paper, I have no problem with someone taking him to task for his very-public diatribe.

I was busy washing my socks, so my wife took the call. She told me she could only understand that he asked for me, but she could not make out anything else he said.

My wife spent some time in the South when she was younger and usually has no problem understanding thick accents, but she said she had no idea what he was saying.

I'm not poking fun at his accent, but only saying that it was exceptionally thick and that makes it difficult for those up here in the Pacific Northwest (where we speak perfect English, of course) to understand.

Mark?
 

Hey man, I am on your side on this one, but be careful where you take this accent topic. I am from the "Deep South" as well and I speak and write quite clearly. The school that he coaches is a suburb of Baton Rouge. It is a large high school in what was once considered the "country" but is now considered the "burbs". I am sure your wife heard some "Cajun" in his voice, but I assure you that is no more difficult to decifer than is a Northeastern accent, ie. Boston or New York.

Fair and Informative?
 

I don't see how telling someone you find their remarks "to be unprofessional, insulting and ludicrous" fits the description of "fair and informative". Sure the coach was way off base, but insulting the guy personally is not going to make him think more highly of officials nor take more responsibility for the outcomes of his games. Do you honestly believe that sending him your email will make him think twice before blasting officials after a game. My guess is that he has now reached the point of being so p*ssed at all officials that you have flamed the fires, not educated him.

ok
 

I don't see how telling someone you find their remarks "to be unprofessional, insulting and ludicrous" fits the description of "fair and informative".

Ok, maybe that particular line of Mark's was not 100% fair and informative, but it does express an honest opinion of many. There were many other points made by both indivuals that were also fair and informative. Neither side is completely right here. But I still believe that the coach was way off base blasting the officiating in the paper like that. You just don't do that in public.

The beat goes on
 

The guy just emailed me again. This time, he flamed me for not taking his call, saying I didn't want to "hear the truth". He attached a Word file where he tried to justify his comments. He told me to go ahead and correct the spelling and grammar. After looking at the document, I realized it would overload my spell checker.

Two things stood out - he equated Bobby Knight with John Wooden (blasphemy in my book) and he said he lost one game (he , not his team) because an official wouldn't make "over the back" calls!

Here was my reply:

Mr. Chandler - certainly you are entitled to your opinion. However, having a coach publically berate officials is generally considered by virtually all "ruling bodies" as unacceptable. A better tactic would have been to contact your state association and provide them with the videotapes of the game, so you would have had some support for your comments.

Not even the NBA allows coaches to make such comments public. You must realize that doing so following a tough loss only further damages your credibility.

By the way - there is no such foul as "over the back".

As far as I'm concerned, this guy is the best reason yet for sending your kids to private school.

Surely he wanted "reach-in calls" too. :-)

Z

Re: The beat goes on
 

You need to send this whole email excahnge to Mach Chauvain(sp?) of the LHSAA.
Mack is a no-nonsense kind of guy who will have a look see at this guys problem.
I have worked for Mack, and he is unmerciful if an official screws up but he also stands up for his officials.