Announcers are killing the game with ignorant rules interpretation

[JeffTheRef]

I'm looking for a groundswell of disgust. Who was it the other night monaing that the clock should have started when the foulshot hit the rim? Who told these bozos, including the articulate but bozonic Brad Daugherty, what a 'good no-call' is? Thank God they are not driving a bus for your local transit authority. It would be crash city, baby . . .

[medlin]

Is it too much to ask announcers to read a rule book every now and then? Or to take a rules quiz periodically? I know it would be too much to ask them to attend a referee camp.
That being said, I just thought that I would let you know that one part of your post 'struck a nerve' with me. You described Brad Daugherty as being 'articulate'. Why do people (not just you) use this adjective to describe African-Americans that use proper english?

[ChuckElias]

medlin has apparently been listening to Chris Rock's old material!

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by medlin

That being said, I just thought that I would let you know that one part of your post 'struck a nerve' with me. You described Brad Daugherty as being 'articulate'. Why do people (not just you) use this adjective to describe African-Americans that use proper english?

Fine,he's inarticulate. Everything OK now?

Exactly what adjectives do you expect somebody to use to decribe an announcer,other than a descriptive word like "articulate"? How do YOU describe white people that use proper English?

PS-before you reply,do you know what color I am? Does it make any difference in your reply?

Lah me,no wonder I'm grumpy as hell today!



[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Mar 24th, 2003 at 01:59 PM]

[Man In Blue]

I think we are looking at broadcasters the wrong way. When was the last time someone from our association ever offered to do a "rules" clinic for them. Do we make it easy for them to get a rule or case book?

In a perfect world they would take the bull by the horns and do it themselves. But we live in a not so perfect world. Next time a broadcaster makes a terrible rule interpetation email them with the correct one. Be nice and offer suggestions.

[cmckenna]

Originally posted by medlin
Why do people (not just you) use this adjective to describe African-Americans that use proper english?

WHAT ???!!!??

[Grail]

Who are they killing the game for? Certainly not the same ignorant fans that are watching.

As an official we know that it's not "over the back" or a "reach around" foul, but the public seems to understand what the announcer is trying to say.

The small minority of the people watching are officials, and they understand that the announcers are just that, announcers. My guess is that while the average fan would like to know that the rules are being enforced, they don't care about the exact verbage.

Of course when they explain the rules incorrectly it causes us headaches at the games we work, but that's not the announcers problem.

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by medlin
Why do people (not just you) use this adjective to describe African-Americans that use proper english?

Ok, here's my non-smart-@$$ reply: Expectations.

Most of the young African-American men that are on TV are either athletes or rappers. Neither of these groups is particularly reknowned for its keen usage of the English language. That's not to say they're less intelligent; it's just to say that they don't speak proper English much of the time.

So when a college sophmore gets interviewed and actually strings three coherent, grammatically correct sentences together, people are impressed. He has exceeded the audience's expectations. So they say, "Wow, he's talented, and he's pretty well-spoken, too!"

Notice that people generally don't say the same thing for professional Blacks. Nobody makes it a point to say that Bernard Shaw (formerly of CNN), or Clarence Thomas, or Condaleeza Rice is well-spoken. They're expected to be. They wouldn't hold their positions if they weren't.

Just my two cents, as usual.

Chuck

[medlin]

When I shared the original post with some of my colleagues, they too were puzzled about the choice of words, so I know I'm not alone in my thinking.

As a teacher, it pains me to see African-Americans being taunted for getting good grades or trying to "act white" when they use correct english. I am curious when people say that some African-Americans "sound white" on the phone.

I know a lobbyist in DC who received his BS and law degrees from the prestigous Washington University. After presenting an opinon to a senator, the first thing that he commented on was how articulate the man was. Why was that the first thing that one of our leaders would comment on? I could go on about why we are surprised when an African-American uses proper english. My point is that we shouldn't...Bob Costas is a great announcer, not a great, articulate announcer.

I'm pretty sure that JeffTheRef didn't mean anything when he said that Brad was articulate. Or he might have been surprised that he is articulate even though he has a southern accent which is in stark contrast to the President of the United States, who is far from articulate.

[ChuckElias]

I already gave my answer, and I think it holds as true for a Senator as it does for the guy watching the news at home. Expectations.

As for taunting somebody for getting good grades, that's not a racial issue. Smart white kids get teased by dumb (or lazy) white kids, too. I know from experience.

Chuck

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
I already gave my answer, and I think it holds as true for a Senator as it does for the guy watching the news at home. Expectations.

As for taunting somebody for getting good grades, that's not a racial issue. Smart white kids get teased by dumb (or lazy) white kids, too. I know from experience.

Chuck

Hmmm...you don't seem like the type of guy who would tease someone for being smart.

(Sorry, but ya put a hanging waist high slider in there & what do you expect?)

[Jurassic Referee]

Medlin,there are a lot of contributors to this board that are very articulate. There are also some that have real trouble "articulating" their thoughts properly. I don't have a clue what color any of these people are,and neither do I care.I care more about the content of their thoughts,rather than how they express them.

My point is that,as far as I was concerned,you were injecting race into a thought by JeffRef that had nothing to do with that subject at all.The same comment that JeffRef made has basically been made many times already on this board about announcers like Bill Walton. Walton fits the same description that Jeff gave to a T- "articulate but bozonic".I don't think that any of us thought that the fact that Walton is "white" was related in any way to the same points being made about him.

As a person,it pains me to see people seeing monsters under their bed,when there are none there. Again,JMO.

[ibumgardner]

Originally posted by Man In Blue
I think we are looking at broadcasters the wrong way. When was the last time someone from our association ever offered to do a "rules" clinic for them. Do we make it easy for them to get a rule or case book?

In a perfect world they would take the bull by the horns and do it themselves. But we live in a not so perfect world. Next time a broadcaster makes a terrible rule interpetation email them with the correct one. Be nice and offer suggestions.

I would be happy to donate my old case books or rule books.

I tried to look up Billy Packer's email address one time but couldn't find it (after an exhausting 10 search on the internet). Is there a way to find some of these announcer's email addresses?

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by Dan_ref
(Sorry, but ya put a hanging waist high slider in there & what do you expect?)

Yeah, yeah. I knew it when I wrote it, but I thought it needed to be said anyway.

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
I don't have a clue what color any of these people are,and neither do I care.

I have a clue about one of them. . .