sportsmanship award (a little long)

Junker · #1 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 09:15am

I'm just posting this to do a little venting. I agreed to do some middle school games for the town I live in this winter when their normal official broke his foot. Early in the second half I'm trail, my lead is not certified, but I've worked with him before and he's getting better. On a breakaway layup, home player ends up in the wall. Lead calls ball oob and gives it to visitors. I had no idea on the call because I'm concerning myslef with the other players and my partner is in very good position. Dad in the crowd screams out "bulls#@t" at the top of his voice. I immediately walk over my site manager (a school nurse that's never had to deal with something like this) and ask her to tell him not to use profanity (looking back I should have tossed him immediately, but I'd never tossed a fan). The dad comes walking toward us before she talks to him and say "I'm going" (even though I hadn't tossed him) and comes close to me (not quite on the court) and calls me a "piece of sh@#". He leaves and a couple of possestions later his kid gets T'd by my partner for pushing a kid after a play. The AD of the school (I live in an area without assignors or an association, something I hope to change before next year) pulls me off the last two games not wanting any "controversy". I agreed that it was a good idea as middle school kids are there to learn the game but I told him in no uncertain terms that I felt pulling me from those games encouraged poor sportsmanship and makes it very difficult to work any games involving this school as people were already (the day after, before I had a chance to talk to the AD) talking about me getting "fired" from officiating those games. I had to leave it at that but decided I wouldn't work for that school again. Anyway, getting to the title of the thread, my niece is in the kids' class and he recieved the year end sportsmanship award at their awards banquet. All I could do is shake my head and laugh.

rainmaker · #2 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 12:13pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Junker
All I could do is shake my head and laugh.

Laugh? We should all hang our heads and cry. What kind of society is this anyway? Ummm... okay... I'm feeling a little upset today, and maybe that's an over-reaction. But I sure don't think it's funny.

vabella01 · #3 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 02:49pm

I keep a doc on my computer that I can copy pithy quotes to when someone says something that inspires thought.

A recent one is from Nate McMillan (now coach of the Seattle Supersonics, and proof positive that you can be intensely competitive without being a jerk):

"I'm sure you can come up with 1 to 15 guys that could win the MVP, but try to come up with 15 players that show good sportsmanship."

som44 · #4 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 04:56pm

sad case--kids need to learn and so do many parents

JustAFan · #5 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 06:27pm

Is this the reason why so many people quit officiating after 1 or 2 years? Especially when they see some of the experienced refs in the NBA getting fired because they're trying to enforce the rules?

This truly IS sad.

ChuckElias · #6 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 06:33pm

Quote:

Originally posted by JustAFan
Is this the reason why so many people quit officiating after 1 or 2 years? Especially when they see some of the experienced refs in the NBA getting fired because they're trying to enforce the rules?

Um. . . huh?

BktBallRef · #7 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 09:11pm

Who got fired?

JustAFan · #8 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 10:06pm

Jim Kinsey and Dee Kantner were fired last summer, primarily because they got extremely low ratings from coaches and general managers. I thought that both of them were doing a great job. No, I didn't see all of their games. But I did catch quite a few of them on Tivo, and transferred most of the games to VHS. After they were fired I went back and watched the tapes again, trying to find where they were screwing up. The only time I really couldn't tell whether they were right or not was when the action wasn't caught on camera. Otherwise their calls/no calls were dead on. I lost count of how many times I went to the rulebook on the internet just to make sure about the rules. Sure, they pissed off a lot of players and coaches! (Do you suppose that the officials in the current playoffs would be blowing the whistle as often as they are doing now if they weren't under such close scrutiny all of a sudden, now that everyone is up in arms about the NBA officiating???)

In all honesty now...I have to admit that I have a poor attitude about the NBA, but not because of the coaches or players. It's the fans. Too many of them act like thugs. A couple of years ago I was caught in the crossfire between 2 groups of fans who had been taunting each other throughout the game. After the game was over, they moved toward each other and started throwing punches, etc. I was hit in the head with a pair of binoculars and darn near lost my right eye. So no more NBA for me, at least not in the arenas!

Maybe there was justification for firing Kinsey and Kantner, but try as I will I just don't see it. I don't know what Jim Kinsey is doing now, but Dee Kantner is back in the women's game and is doing great. At least she is appreciated.

Dan_ref · #9 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 10:23pm

Quote:

Originally posted by JustAFan
Jim Kinsey and Dee Kantner were fired last summer, primarily because they got extremely low ratings from coaches and general managers. I thought that both of them were doing a great job. No, I didn't see all of their games. But I did catch quite a few of them on Tivo, and transferred most of the games to VHS. After they were fired I went back and watched the tapes again, trying to find where they were screwing up. The only time I really couldn't tell whether they were right or not was when the action wasn't caught on camera. Otherwise their calls/no calls were dead on. I lost count of how many times I went to the rulebook on the internet just to make sure about the rules. Sure, they pissed off a lot of players and coaches! (Do you suppose that the officials in the current playoffs would be blowing the whistle as often as they are doing now if they weren't under such close scrutiny all of a sudden, now that everyone is up in arms about the NBA officiating???)

In all honesty now...I have to admit that I have a poor attitude about the NBA, but not because of the coaches or players. It's the fans. Too many of them act like thugs. A couple of years ago I was caught in the crossfire between 2 groups of fans who had been taunting each other throughout the game. After the game was over, they moved toward each other and started throwing punches, etc. I was hit in the head with a pair of binoculars and darn near lost my right eye. So no more NBA for me, at least not in the arenas!

Maybe there was justification for firing Kinsey and Kantner, but try as I will I just don't see it. I don't know what Jim Kinsey is doing now, but Dee Kantner is back in the women's game and is doing great. At least she is appreciated.

I dunno, maybe I should just leave this one alone...where does any of this back up the claim they were fired for enforcing the rules? What makes you think NBA officials being closely scrutinized is a recent development? What makes someone who goes to the internet for his copy of the NBA rulebook and evaluates officials on his tivo a basketball officiating expert?

Oh yeah, the WNBA is not the NBA.

JustAFan · #10 (**permalink**) Wed May 21, 2003, 10:27pm

Well, you got me on that!

oatmealqueen · #11 (**permalink**) Sun May 25, 2003, 07:30pm

I watched Dee a few times and well, to be perfectly honest, she lacked that certain "presence" that commands the respect needed to officiate at that level.
I believe that we all have a limit as to how high up we can go, with the skills that we inately possess, or learn.
Dee was just in a little over her limit. JMHO