Officials demanding coach’s suspension for bumping ref even after video shows otherwi

[j51969]

I am sure the coach said something completely ignorant in conjuctjion with what was reported (nothing none of us haven't heard before). He didn't touch this guy, and is clearly looking for a path around him. The coach held up in order to not bump into him. The official couldn't get out to there fast enough, and wasn't watching where he was going. This Tucci guy is a douche, and clearly setting himself up for a law suit. Tucci has told the high school athletic governing body that the incident has "affected me horribly. I have a very uncomfortable feeling as soon as I step on the floor". Looks like it's time to retire.

[Hartsy]

Originally Posted by j51969

I am sure the coach said something completely ignorant in conjuctjion with what was reported (nothing none of us haven't heard before). He didn't touch this guy, and is clearly looking for a path around him. The coach held up in order to not bump into him. The official couldn't get out to there fast enough, and wasn't watching where he was going. This Tucci guy is a douche, and clearly setting himself up for a law suit. Tucci has told the high school athletic governing body that the incident has "affected me horribly. I have a very uncomfortable feeling as soon as I step on the floor". Looks like it's time to retire.

My feelings are similar. After looking at the video and reading an article about what happened, I would be more inclined to suspend the ref than the coach or team. He is making a big deal out of nothing.

[Eastshire]

I agree that it doesn't appear that the coach intended to bump him. He did, however, intentionally get within a few inches of the official in order to threaten him and in that process inadvertently bumped the official when the official tried to leave.

So don't suspended him for the bump; suspend him for threatening an official.

(Yes, the official shouldn't have been there. That doesn't give the coach carte blanche.)

[BryanV21]

Coaches and players are going to say things "in the heat of the moment". We've all seen/heard it before. We're taught to ignore statements, which is what this coach made. I don't know about PA rules, but something tells me this coach wouldn't be able to blackball the official from working any games in that league. So who cares about what he said?

Looks like a case of an official that's too thin-skinned. The coach clearly did not intend to bump him, and the official should have just ignored the coach's statement and left the court.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

Coaches and players are going to say things "in the heat of the moment". We've all seen/heard it before. We're taught to ignore statements, which is what this coach made. I don't know about PA rules, but something tells me this coach wouldn't be able to blackball the official from working any games in that league. So who cares about what he said?

Looks like a case of an official that's too thin-skinned. The coach clearly did not intend to bump him, and the official should have just ignored the coach's statement and left the court.

Do you know what was said? A threat "You'll never..." is not just a statement that can be ignored. Calling an official thin skinned for reacting to that is part of the sportsmanship problem, not the solution.

[BryanV21]

Originally Posted by Adam

Do you know what was said? A threat "You'll never..." is not just a statement that can be ignored. Calling an official thin skinned for reacting to that is part of the sportsmanship, not the solution.

It's not like the coach threatened the official physically. Like I said, unless coaches in PA really can get an official blackballed by the league, then it's more of an emtpy-threat than anything. And why make a big deal about an empty-threat?

I didn't see the whole game, so the context may be totally different than what I know, but if I put myself in the video I would have just ran off the court and forgot about the entire ordeal. Just another coach complaining about a call/no-call. And in that case, I'd go into the locker room and ask my partners if something was missed.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

It's not like the coach threatened the official physically. Like I said, unless coaches in PA really can get an official blackballed by the league, then it's more of an emtpy-threat than anything. And why make a big deal about an empty-threat?

I didn't see the whole game, so the context may be totally different than what I know, but if I put myself in the video I would have just ran off the court and forgot about the entire ordeal. Just another coach complaining about a call/no-call. And in that case, I'd go into the locker room and ask my partners if something was missed.

Around here, and everywhere I have worked, if a coach makes this threat, it's a flagrant T. It doesn't matter how empty that threat is. As far as I know, it's the same for most locations.

That said, I'm not going to be at the table after a game anyway. I know too many officials that, for whatever reason, like to go shake hands with the table crew after the game.