Where is the line for parents?

[APG]

Originally Posted by chicodork

In hindsite, I would have ignored them, but at the time, I just didn't feel like hearing that crap all night. Live and learn. I don't have the rep for looking for trouble, and I am trying to move up in our association, but I wonder how a more experienced ref would have taken that? What about, "You Suck!" Do you let that go?

"You suck" from a fan wouldn't register at all to me.

[JRutledge]

Fans make me laugh. I cannot think of many times I have ever had to even think about throwing a fan for comments, let alone getting upset by their comments. I have been known to laugh at them and make them look stupid when they are so close to the court, but unless they say something to the players or teams, I pay little attention to fans. Ignore them and move on.

Peace

[rekent]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I have been known to laugh at them and make them look stupid when they are so close to the court, ...

Please, go on. Do tell...

[VaTerp]

As others have said I find fans who choose to behave this way comical and have to keep myself from literally laughing at them on the court.

On occasion when a fan is being particularly loud I may accidentally make eye contact and smile at them.

But for the most part I just ignore the ignorance. All most of them want is a reaction. They want their 15 seconds of fame and to try and rattle you and/or visibly affect the way you are calling the game. When you get game management on them I almost see it as a sign of weakness that they are really getting to you.

Obviously there are some situations that cross the line and sometimes we all get in the mood where we just don't feel like hearing it. But I think you're better off just ignoring it or cursing them out in your head. I hear a really stupid comment sometimes and I just say "STFU dumb arse" in my head. Makes me feel better and works for me.

Comments like "you suck" or anything mentioned in the OP don't even come close to something I would think about or feel the need to have game management involved.

[JetMetFan]

I agree with everything said by the other vets but I'm now remembering the only time I had a parent removed from a gym. Either 8th or 9th grade girls about 15 years ago in GA. Dad wasn't being profane but it was similar to the OP: the only extremely loud person in a pretty empty gym. I didn't make a big scene. Just nodded to GM and those folks took care of the rest.

After Dad was led out at halftime I heard one of the players say, "Did they kick him out?" One of her teammates said, "Yeah." The girl said, "Good."

It was her father.

[zm1283]

I haven't been doing this for a really long time, but I have never even came close to having a fan removed. The things in the OP wouldn't even register with me. Like everyone else has said, I think the stuff people pop off about is funny. There are other officials who take it very personally and get game management involved at the drop of a hat, which I don't understand.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by zm1283

I haven't been doing this for a really long time, but I have never even came close to having a fan removed. The things in the OP wouldn't even register with me. Like everyone else has said, I think the stuff people pop off about is funny. There are other officials who take it very personally and get game management involved at the drop of a hat, which I don't understand.

I've probably had 5 or so removed in the 11 years I've been where I am now. I'd bet 2-3 of them are from the same school -- the best thing I can say about it is "it's 10 minutes from the house."

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by rekent

Please, go on. Do tell...

There is an occaion that you can say something to one of these fools during a dead ball something that embarrasses them. There are multiple ways to do this as they often say something to you that opens the door, but you can make them look silly by your response or they realize that their behavior might not be a good idea to continue.

The most effective way is what a couple of former partners called "Playing the game." They would point out the fool that was usually very over the top yelling and screaming. And what we would do was bring a partner with you and look in the stands directly at the troublemaker, and start talking to each other and usually nothing about the fan and the fan would realize they were caught and stop yelling or their wife or husband or kid would tell them to "shut up." One time it worked so well, the guy left on his own without us using GM to remove them. The bottom line is you do this very sparely and you do it when you read the situation properly. And the fewer people in a crowd the better. If it is very crowded then it does not work as well or might be harder to figure out who is doing all the yelling.

Peace

[MD Longhorn]

What fans? What parents? I see no fans or parents...

(Except that one time on walked on the court...)

[Indianaref]

I remember asking a similar question about fan interaction when I first started out...this one below stuck out for me:

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

You can generally lump interactions with fans into two categories. There are those situations where the answer to the question of whether to talk to fans is definitely No. On the other hand, there are those times when the answer is Hell No! Knowing the difference is important

[archangel]

Had scheduled 3 games in an 8th Gr boys Holiday tourney in a "pit" type gym. When I arrived in street clothes, I heard/saw the fans of both teams (of the game before mine) yelling at both officials- coaches were doing same.
I sat to watch the "fun", and eventually 1 coach was T'd, then the other teams coach a few minutes later, and I'm thinking, OK -they're taking care of business.

During the next qtr, one ref blows his whistle, points into the stands and does the baseball ump "You, Yer outa here!" thing. Fan grabs coat and walks toward the door, game continues, until the ref sees that fan still watching the game from the other side- stops game again, yells that the game wont start until fan leaves.

I go get dressed, call my (never met before) partner, leaving a where are you voicemail, walk down to floor as players shaking hands, 10 min clock running till my game starts, and approach refs from the game just finished, with me commenting on their "interesting" game and hoping that mine go smoother-if partner arrives on time.

Yep, the ref that tossed the fan is staying for 1 more game (with me). He mentions being a rookie, so I take him aside, telling him to ignore fans, never doing what he did, but use GM if necessary. He agrees.

Fans were "excited" in our losers bracket tourney game, and at game end after teams have shook, and fans are leaving, again 10 min till next game, I ask partner sitting by the scoretable if he wants a water, cause I do. Concessions are around a corner, and when I come back in view of the floor I see 4 fans have him surrounded, up against the endline wall, all pointing and yelling. I drop the waters, run over, arriving at the same time as GM, get in between and finally shoo those fans away.

Back at the table, I apologize for leaving him alone, and ask what happened. He says a fan gave him a dirty look, so he pointed and yelled a warning to that fan.
All I thought at that point, was I had a new partner walking in then, and I was done with that guy...