Politics of Basketball

[The_Rookie]

Recently my association held elections for officers and board members and all the candidates had one common theme: THEY WERE ANGRY

The feelings of resentment and feeling left out of the "BIG GAMES" bubbled over and were put out in the open for all to hear! I have heard private complaining and whispers over the years but nothing so public and with so much fire..words like corruption and favortism were tossed around loosely.

Your thoughts on how much these type of feelings exists in your world? Why do people get so riled up over high school basketball?

[brainbrian]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Why do people get so riled up over high school basketball?

My guess is pride, ego, competition. They get to tell their buddies they worked that "big" game last week.

[Andy]

Most of us that are or were officials were also athletes and competitors previously. As such, we still have the competitive drive.

Some officials manifest that by comparing themselves to other officials and the number and/or percieved "quality" of the games assigned. Many officials that feel slighted that they are not getting the BIG games will start to blame "politics", the "good ole boy network" and "such and such assignor" doesn't like me. Anything but take a realistic look at their game and what they can do to improve.

Without knowing anything about your association and making some assumptions, I do find it interesting that some of the ANGRY officials have decided to become involved in the leadership of the organization instead of just sitting back and complaining about it. Hopefully, it works out well for your group.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Andy

... Many officials that feel slighted that they are not getting the BIG games will start to blame "politics", the "good ole boy network" and "such and such assignor" doesn't like me. Anything but take a realistic look at their game and what they can do to improve.
...

Sometimes this is reality, trust me.

[BigT]

I love these angry guys. They make it so easy for the cream to rise to the top and get more of those great games.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by BigT

I love these angry guys. They make it so easy for the cream to rise to the top and get more of those great games.

Cream wasn't rising to the top around here. In these parts, the cream would go to camps and better themselves and get ridiculed by veterans for "trying to be college officials." The HS officiating situation is a joke where I live, that's why I travel up the road to work public school games.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Sometimes this is reality, trust me.

I am well aware of that and did not mean to imply that these things don't happen at all.

However, in my experience, they are blamed for a perceived lack of advancement far more than they are actually responsible for.

[Freddy]

One reason I am happy our association has no assigning function. Other associations in our state who do have similar issues to what you have expressed, though maybe not to that extent.
If it's as bad as say, would an initiative to separate the two be practical for your group?

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Recently my association held elections for officers and board members and all the candidates had one common theme: THEY WERE ANGRY

The feelings of resentment and feeling left out of the "BIG GAMES" bubbled over and were put out in the open for all to hear! I have heard private complaining and whispers over the years but nothing so public and with so much fire..words like corruption and favortism were tossed around loosely.

Your thoughts on how much these type of feelings exists in your world? Why do people get so riled up over high school basketball?

Happened here...many unhappy people, commissioner voted out, he starts rival organization, big-time split, good ole boy politics within the school system, etc, etc. So I work my public school games for an out-of-town board and private schools for my original board.

[Lcubed48]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Happened here...many unhappy people, commissioner voted out, he starts rival organization, big-time split, good ole boy politics within the school system, etc, etc. So I work my public school games for an out-of-town board and private schools for my original board.

And BNR's new board (my only board) is better with the addition of him and others from his area.

PS - The bill is in the mail.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Lcubed48

And BNR's new board (my only board) is better with the addition of him and others from his area.

PS - The bill is in the mail.

I owe you a low carb pizza.

[Lcubed48]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

I owe you a low carb pizza.

Low carb pizza? OK! Lite beer, also? OK. You working guys can afford it.

[BatteryPowered]

Because many here may not know...in Texas there are chapters that cover a specific geographic area and each chapter has someone assign games for schools in their area to members of the chapter.

In my chapter there was a similar mini-revolt over assignments. The assignor commented that he could only go by the feedback he received and personal observations because there was no established evaluation program. The chapter spent the rest of that season putting together an evaluation committee of "top officials", establishing criteria and developing grade categories identifying the type of game you would be eligible to work given your grade (from large school varsity down to middle school for both boys and girls). The next year every official in the chapter was observed and evaluated three times (and twice in each year afterwards).

The next season, even with the grades and criteria, the same officials were getting all the "big games" and large programs even though the committee had identified officials who should be getting better games (and many of them were still being given medium sized school girls varsity). At the end of that year, the Executive Committe fired the assignor and hired a new one. Funny, after that happened the "rising stars" and the officials who were making solid improvement in the craft started getting "better schedules".

So you see, sometimes it really is the good ole boy network that officials are fighting.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Your thoughts on how much these type of feelings exists in your world? Why do people get so riled up over high school basketball?

This has nothing to do with basketball honestly. People that are competitive on some level, want to achieve everything they can for as long as they can. When they fail or lose out those people cannot handle the lack of success or if others get successful at their expense. This is pure life. It could be about a woman, a job opportunity or who has the bigger house. It is all the same with human beings and it comes out in this area of our lives just like anything else. Basketball officiating IMO is no different. This is just another year of the same thing.

Peace

[DRJ1960]

One of our members gave an impassioned speech against our board (I'm not on it) last night. He doesn't think his schedule is fair and made it abundantly clear that he has no respect for the board and told the evaluators "judge not that ye be not judged".