Ejecting Fans
 

What is your threshold for ejecting or cautioning fans? Do the "three P's" (personal, profane, prolonged) apply to fans as well? This assumes you are doing this indirectly, through on-site management.

I hardly ever consider anything when it comes to fans. Unless they interact with the participants directly in an inappropriate way, I have no thought process that even includes them in what they do or say. And student sections are usually going to say some personal things to players or coaches under the right circumstances. Mostly I let the school administrators handle these situations.

Peace

I just ignore and avoid the crowd and let game mgt take care of it.....if there is such a thing.

I have only ejected one fan - ever (Rec Ball) many yrs ago as I had just ejected the head coach and he (the fan) came onto the court......buh, bye.

I have a slightly different threshold. To me, if the fans/parents are actually preventing you from focussing on the game, then it's time for them to stop. 99% of the time, in school games, game admin takes care of the issue before I even notice anything is wrong.

In spring/summer/fall ball, GM sometimes needs a little prodding. I've never actually tossed a fan, but I have, in a YMCA league game, loudly informed the table that we were on the verge of clearing the bleachers.

I have never tossed a fan , but I have asked GM to monitor a fan or section. So my threshold if fairly high. Things like threatening a player, racial or sexual orientation comments would cross the line for me. But for me I would eject quicker when comment are directed at a player than myself. As far as comments that would distract me from calling a game, I cannot think of a comment that would do that. And if what a fan says effects my game, I think that is more about me as an official, than the fan.

I tossed a fan, or I should say I had a fan tossed. Once. 15 years ago during a summer AAU game because he was being a loudmouth in an otherwise very quiet gym in suburban Atlanta. As he was leaving I heard his daughter say to a teammate, "Did he get kicked out?" The teammate nodded yes and the daughter said, "Good."

Otherwise, as long as they stay in the stands I'm letting game management deal with them. I may give GM a little prodding if they're going overboard in a H.S. game but other than that I try to forget the crowd is there.

I have once. BV between 2 heated rivals in a gym without much room on the sidelines. Ravens' current backup QB steps on sideline while dribbling over division line against pressure defense. I make the call and a fan jumps into neutral zone along sideline and yells "bullsh!t" a couple times. I walked over to GM and advised them that person needed to leave...IMO.

Later in the same game, during OT, said player gets fouled by superstar from other team followed by a taunting T on Mr. QB. When I turn around from reporting my fouls there's a fight going on at the top of the bleachers. Turns out it was between Mr. QB's father and Mr. Superstar's uncle.

With that type of environment I felt validated in my earlier ejection of the unruly fan. A have a low tolerance for that type of garbage.

Once in a freshman game (back gym, no bleachers, fans standing around the court) when there was no (real) game management. I tossed him myself.

Once in a varsity tournament when a fan made a racial threat. I had the home AD remove the fan.

Once in a girl's middle school game. Small gym, pack of fans standing at the top of the bleachers and completely showing their rears. During a dead ball, one of them starts yelling and screaming directly at me in a manner that brought attention of the whole gym on him. I went over to the table and told the timer / game admin that he needed to leave. She all too happily agreed and told him to get lost. He made quite a scene leaving, which further validated my decision.

This worked in this situation. If it were a loud, even semi full gym I'd have not noticed but I doubt all of the players would have heard that either.

Once in a girl's MS game, two women (moms?) were taping the game. During a time out, they decided to verbally intimidate the visiting team. The visiting coach brought it to my attention. The GM tossed them without hesitation after I pointed them out.

What the heck were these moms doing?

95% of the time there is someone administrative that will either take care of this, or whom you can ask to take care of it. The other 5%, it's a tough call. I would rather ignore them entirely - taking care of it yourself, in the absence of administrators, can be dangerous - you never know who's going to want to wait in the parking lot.

I can only remember ejecting fans once, and that was softball ... however, I used up my life quota as we ejected the entire side (after ejecting the manager, then later the acting manager, and immediately after that the lone remaining coach). TD allowed one coach to remain in the dugout to administer the kids on the condition that he never leave the dugout nor shout anything (even encouragement) loud enough that we could hear it. Basically, the rest of that game was the kids to win or lose (they won, actually).

I did eject a scorekeeper in football once as well, when he cussed us out over the PA.

Is it wrong that I laughed at this?

Yes. It's wrong.

I'm also sorry.

You work youth football in Texas - you know exactly the type of scoreboard guy I'm talking about. :) :)

His kid, apparently, rushed up the middle into a pile of dust around the 10 yard line. The pile was moving slowly forward, we didn't kill the play. All of a sudden over the PA we hear something like, "What the F&*$!!! Blow the G@$-D#$# play dead you F*$&*# idiots!!!! You're going to get my kid hurt!!!!!"

Kid scored. Parent-with-a-mike got to witness the rest of the game through binoculars from the not-very-close parking lot.