Middle School Unsportsmanlike Conduct by Nonplayer

[TNStripes]

This situation was described to me this morning and I wanted to see what officials across the country thought about it.

In TN, most MS game chain crews are fresh/soph students/players on the varsity team instead of adults but they are still part of the officiating crew.

Last night between two local teams the ball was going out of bounds near the line to gain equipment. One of the chain crew didn't or couldn't get out of the way in time. Players crashed into sideline and equipment but no one was hurt or injured that I know of. I do not know if they were the required 6 ft off but this school does have plenty of room so they should have been. As the players were re-entering the field an asst. coach on the visiting team grabbed, shook, and verbally assaulted the young chain worker.

Knowing how most MS games are staffed and operated in your areas, would you flag & disqualify under 9.4.2 - intentionally contacting an official? or any 9.8.1 situation? Let it go with warnings and conversations, etc?

Input please.

Thanks.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by TNStripes

This situation was described to me this morning and I wanted to see what officials across the country thought about it.

In TN, most MS game chain crews are fresh/soph students/players on the varsity team instead of adults but they are still part of the officiating crew.

Last night between two local teams the ball was going out of bounds near the line to gain equipment. One of the chain crew didn't or couldn't get out of the way in time. Players crashed into sideline and equipment but no one was hurt or injured that I know of. I do not know if they were the required 6 ft off but this school does have plenty of room so they should have been. As the players were re-entering the field an asst. coach on the visiting team grabbed, shook, and verbally assaulted the young chain worker.

Knowing how most MS games are staffed and operated in your areas, would you flag & disqualify under 9.4.2 - intentionally contacting an official? or any 9.8.1 situation? Let it go with warnings and conversations, etc?

Input please.

Thanks.

I would throw my flag towards his bus and tell him to go retrieve it.

[JugglingReferee]

I have a non-yardage ejection. No possibility of anything else.

[JasonTX]

Not only would he be disqualified, but I'd also be calling for the game administrator and security because of the possibilty that the kids dad or mom would likely be coming down to take matters into their own hands. This type of violence should not be allowed and in Texas we'd be filing a report with the state organization.

[Mike L]

He'd be gone so fast you'd see those little cartoon streaky lines behind him.

[mcrowder]

I agree with everything above. Eject, Write Up, and no yards.

[Texas Aggie]

While Jason is spot on here and yardage is the least of my concerns at the moment, why no yardage? He's an assistant coach. If he yelled a profanity at you, you'd tack on 15.

I'd also call the police. The coach committed a crime here.

[Forksref]

I'd do all of the above and also call the principal of the school. Whether the coach was a teacher there or not, the principal will want to know what happened in regard to her/his team. It's best to hear it firsthand.

[FootballRef05]

He is an assistant coach, I would toss him and go the 15 yards. Our process here for ejecting a player or coach is to notify the state, the AD of both schools, and the board of our officials associtation. In this situation I'm sure there would be serious concenquences for the coach.

[Blue37]

TNStripes

Send me a PM.

[DJ_NV]

I agree with all of the above, however (and this depends on the state organization) but I would only call my association commissioner and not the principal or anyone else. The commissioner is our direct liaison to the state athletics/activities association and he will receive the game report and follow up with the ejection. He will then ask/request that the game official issue a written report or a verbal report.

so in short: flag it, eject the coach, march of the 15, write up the report after the game, contact the commissioner within 24 hours and don't talk to anyone else about it. If anyone wants further information, refer them to you commissioner and he'll contact you and leave it at that.

It depends on your state association, but that's how we instruct our guys to handle it.

[Jim D]

Why no yardage? It's a UC on the asst. coach & a 15 yard penalty. Ejection would be optional but prefered. Not marking it off is not an option.

[wisref2]

One other thing I'd do - right after the game, I'd write up everything and put it in my files. It will come in handy if you have to testify in court.

[Texas Aggie]

Originally Posted by wisref2

One other thing I'd do - right after the game, I'd write up everything and put it in my files. It will come in handy if you have to testify in court.

As an attorney, I'd say that's not a bad idea, however, if I had a client in that situation, I'd advise them to make sure the statements on the write-up are factual, as the document would likely be admitted as evidence. In other words, don't write anything down you don't want others to see, like, say, "the fat-a$$ coach..."