Ejection

[Huskerblue]

I had to eject a coach on the Sophomore level last Thursday. Here is what transpired and you all can tell me what you would have done:

We had an unsportsmanlike foul but two plays into the contest against this certain team for taunting. About 3 series later, we have another against the same team but different player for dropping an F-bomb. The coach insisted on speaking to the official who called it. He went over and told him what he said, and the coach was beside himself. About another series or two later, the kid who got the first UC foul drops the F-bomb. He's ejected. Again the coach wants to speak to the official who called it. This time we simply relayed the info to the wing and let him explain it. Again he was beside himself. About 4 minutes before the half, the other team scores a TD. On the PAT, they get stopped for no gain. The tackler lays on the QB and just taunts him to no end. Of course we flag that also. We penalize on teh kickoff and immediately the coach calls a timeout. HE comes to the middle of the field to talk to his players. Notice I said "talk" and not "coach" becasue he did none of the latter. He told his kids, "I guess we can't swear or taunt anymore. I wonder if we can even make a tackle anymore?" "Mr. Referee, is it legal for us to make a tackle anymore or is that going to get us 15 also?" I, being the white hat, informed the coach that any further comments like that would get him 15. He then proceeded to say to his kids, "Tonight we are playing East High School. And tonight we are playin against these 4 referees." Boom. I flag him and eject him. To me he was accusing my crew of cheating, which to me will always be a flagrant Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul.

What would you have done? After we tossed him, his assistant took over and the kids were polite and very sportsmanlike for the remainder of the game. I think I eliminated the root of the problems for that game.

[woolnojg]

And the question is??
He got dumped and earned it without a doubt.

[MD Longhorn]

I would say you exercised more patience than most R's I know would have, possibly including myself. I might have flagged or tossed him for the first comment at midfield. I'm positive I would have responded to the "I guess we can't swear or taunt anymore. I wonder if we can even make a tackle anymore?" comment. If I heard that, I'd have likely said - No, coach, you can't swear or taunt EVER - not just anymore, and one more word about the officiating from you and you can find out if your team won from the parking lot.

And then if he said a word I'd follow through.

And I don't think of myself as quick on the trigger for ejections. This team/coach was WAY out of line - early and often.

[chris s]

Originally posted by Huskerblue
I had to eject a coach on the Sophomore level last Thursday. Here is what transpired and you all can tell me what you would have done:

We had an unsportsmanlike foul but two plays into the contest against this certain team for taunting. About 3 series later, we have another against the same team but different player for dropping an F-bomb. The coach insisted on speaking to the official who called it. He went over and told him what he said, and the coach was beside himself. About another series or two later, the kid who got the first UC foul drops the F-bomb. He's ejected. Again the coach wants to speak to the official who called it. This time we simply relayed the info to the wing and let him explain it. Again he was beside himself. About 4 minutes before the half, the other team scores a TD. On the PAT, they get stopped for no gain. The tackler lays on the QB and just taunts him to no end. Of course we flag that also. We penalize on teh kickoff and immediately the coach calls a timeout. HE comes to the middle of the field to talk to his players. Notice I said "talk" and not "coach" becasue he did none of the latter. He told his kids, "I guess we can't swear or taunt anymore. I wonder if we can even make a tackle anymore?" "Mr. Referee, is it legal for us to make a tackle anymore or is that going to get us 15 also?" I, being the white hat, informed the coach that any further comments like that would get him 15. He then proceeded to say to his kids, "Tonight we are playing East High School. And tonight we are playin against these 4 referees." Boom. I flag him and eject him. To me he was accusing my crew of cheating, which to me will always be a flagrant Unsportsmanlike Conduct foul.

What would you have done? After we tossed him, his assistant took over and the kids were polite and very sportsmanlike for the remainder of the game. I think I eliminated the root of the problems for that game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~`
I had a jv coach 2 years ago with the comments.....Very first flag on his team and he is ranting,"oh jeez!!! It's 16 against 11" I thought it quite funny...especially since he umps baseball with us, and answers his cell phone on the field....working the dish....go figure

[Ed Hickland]

As the WH, I never let a coach talk directly to an official alone. If he has a complaint I, as the WH, go with the nearest official to the coach and listen to his question. If he wants to know what a player said I will repeat it.

When the first UC occurred it would have been a warning to the captain to settle his players down. The second UC would have been the WH and wing to explain to the coach the foul and appeal to his better senses. Let him know you are serious and you consider the actions of his players as being serious enough to eject, if necessary.

Since I was not there and can only rely on what was reported here, relaying information to a coach when he demands to see the official making the call gives a message to the coach that it is not important.

It is important to work with and not against coaches.

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by Ed Hickland
Since I was not there and can only rely on what was reported here, relaying information to a coach when he demands to see the official making the call gives a message to the coach that it is not important.

Are you suggesting that the line judge should go across the field to the visiting coach, if the coach requests to see him?

[Huskerblue]

It is important to work with and not against coaches.

In response to your comment above Ed. We tried working with him. He chose not to work with us. He made no effort to control his player's actions. That's when we took control.

[Ed Hickland]

Originally posted by BktBallRef

Are you suggesting that the line judge should go across the field to the visiting coach, if the coach requests to see him?

No, the line judge should not cross the field to talk to the coach. When a coach requests to talk to an official about a call my policy is to have the white hat with another official as a witness discuss the problem. Having the official who made the call only inflames the situation -- nothing is going to change. But I would not dismiss a request from a coach with a relayed message.

[i011763]

You did the right thing by sending him on his way. He words earned him a seat on the bus. We can't put up with taunting or any other behavior that "get's things started".


As a side note, I make it a point not to listen to what coaches tell their players during a time out.

[Ed Hickland]

Originally posted by Huskerblue
It is important to work with and not against coaches.

In response to your comment above Ed. We tried working with him. He chose not to work with us. He made no effort to control his player's actions. That's when we took control.

Like I said, I was not there. Every referee has a method for dealing with coaches and I advocate a crew discuss what the referee's policy is in the pregame.

Is there an absolutely correct method? Of course, not.

Did you do it right? I think so and the only person who can answer that is you. We all learn by experience. Some referees command more respect than others and can settle coaches easier. That is no bad reflection on referees but that is a fact. Also, lower level coaches can be more trouble than varsity coaches.

I like to let coaches call their own UC. Two years ago a junior high coach felt his team was being manhandled. The other team scored a touchdown and he wanted a flag. He shouted, "Go ahead and throw the flag, go ahead and throw it!" Of course, that was an invitation and I turned and tossed it toward him and calmly signaled unsportsmanlike conduct. That was the end of that and the game progessed without his noise.

But placing your situation on the board helps us all examine what we or others might do in the same situation. Thanks for sharing it.

[Huskerblue]

Thanks for your insight Ed and others who have responded. I hope I never have to deal with something like that again.