Ejections after Cal-Stanford scrap highlight need for a rule change

[JetMetFan]

I'm with JRut. More people out there creates a chance for more chaos. Leave the rule the way it is and let the individual conferences deal with the discipline. Most games at all NCAA levels have cameras in the building, whether they're on ESPN or the internet. If they were being peacemakers they'll be back on the bench the next game because their conference commissioners will be able to see what happened.

Originally Posted by rockyroad

So if you pause it during the "height" of the confrontation, there are 10 Coaches in suits on the court in the middle of the players...so why are only 3 of them being disciplined?

That's where the us problem comes in. We as officials know what the rule is but don't enforce it, in this situation or the St. John's/Notre Dame situation. If anything might bring about a change it's the lack of consistency from us.

[Indianaref]

Hopefully they ejected Cal #35 for coming off the bench as well. As far as ejecting the assistant coaches, I think I'm with Jeff on this one, way too many folks out there.

[scrounge]

I think the rule should be changed...there's already a mechanism to punish those who are exacerbating the situation. True peacemakers shouldn't be punished for a good deed because others are rats. Hold them to a strict standard; even a HINT of not helping and they're gone. But if they're truly helping - well, that's their role IMO.

[jeschmit]

I understand the reasoning as to why you would want to allow assistant coaches to come off of the court in this situation, but I still believe that they need to stay on the bench in these situations. When chaos occurs (i.e. a fight), less is more. There will always be players who are involved in the altercation, and there will always be players who are trying to break up the altercation.

Assistant coaches are bench personnel, and they should remain to be bench personnel when a fight situation occurs. The more people you allow to come onto the court in these situations, the more problems you could potentially have.

All in all, I think the assistant coaches did the right thing in this situation, and, like was said earlier, an ejection is a small price to pay to calm the situation at hand. They still need to be restricted to the bench in those situations though.

[Texas Aggie]

Leave the rule the way it is and give the officials the flexibility to look at replay to determine whether the assistants were peacemakers and helpful or not. In this case they were and they should not have been ejected.

Years ago, we ran through this in a chapter meeting -- a simulated fight -- and talked about as a mock crew how to handle it. It was quickly decided that the coaches who came on the floor to get their own players off were deemed to have been "beckoned" on the court by the officials, even if retroactively. Now, if an assistant is exacerbating trouble or can't keep their own players on the bench, use the rule to inflict appropriate penalties.

The Cal player who started this needs to be suspended for more than just a game. He flopped and retaliated for nothing. Cal was clearly looking for an excuse to start something and this needs to be dealt with severely by the conference and the NCAA.

[APG]

Originally Posted by Texas Aggie

Leave the rule the way it is and give the officials the flexibility to look at replay to determine whether the assistants were peacemakers and helpful or not. In this case they were and they should not have been ejected.

Years ago, we ran through this in a chapter meeting -- a simulated fight -- and talked about as a mock crew how to handle it. It was quickly decided that the coaches who came on the floor to get their own players off were deemed to have been "beckoned" on the court by the officials, even if retroactively. Now, if an assistant is exacerbating trouble or can't keep their own players on the bench, use the rule to inflict appropriate penalties.

The Cal player who started this needs to be suspended for more than just a game. He flopped and retaliated for nothing. Cal was clearly looking for an excuse to start something and this needs to be dealt with severely by the conference and the NCAA.

If they keep the rule the way it is, the assistants would be rejected regardless. I agree with your suggestion in that peacekeepers shouldn't be ejected. I also can't say for certain, but if I were a betting man, I'm guessing, at least at this level, assistants come out on the floor more often than not...and aren't getting ejected for it either which is "right" in my opinion.

If you allow assistant coaches to come off the bench to pull players apart, what is to stop a player from coming off the bench even to do the same thing? When a fight breaks out it is usually a maximum of 4 players. That means there are another 9 people (6 players, 3 officials) on the court who can work to separate the combatants. In my mind, a player or coach coming from the bench is more likely to aggravate the situation than help it.

[APG]

Originally Posted by JetMetFan

That's where the us problem comes in. We as officials know what the rule is but don't enforce it, in this situation or the St. John's/Notre Dame situation. If anything might bring about a change it's the lack of consistency from us.

I've went back and viewed 4 altercations or potential altercations, and assistants came out in EVERY single instance and no ejections were handed to the assistants. It would appear this crew handled this contrary to how this is usually handled at this level. I wonder if the crews were dinged for not doing so...if I had to guess, I'd say not.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by APG

I wonder if the crews were dinged for not doing so...if I had to guess, I'd say not.

In January, NCAAW received a video bulletin from Debbie Williamson dealing with stuff like this and she didn't sound happy that assistants weren't ejected for coming off the bench during an altercation (near-fight between Md & UNC). Does anyone know whether NCAAM received anything similar this season?

[jeschmit]

Originally Posted by JetMetFan

In January, NCAAW received a video bulletin from Debbie Williamson dealing with stuff like this and she didn't sound happy that assistants weren't ejected for coming off the bench during an altercation (near-fight between Md & UNC). Does anyone know whether NCAAM received anything similar this season?

That play was a mess... There's no way I would've gotten all that right from what Debbie explained on that video.