What do you think?

[Da Official]

View the following video (@ 25 second mark):

YouTube - OU intercepts Graham Harrell. Ref gets friendly with an OU player.


I am just in my 2nd year officiating football here in Texas, but what do you think the official was thinking by visiably berating a player on national tv? Should we learn from this as what NOT to do as an official?

Thoughts???

[Blue37]

Originally Posted by Da Official

View the following video (@ 25 second mark):

YouTube - OU intercepts Graham Harrell. Ref gets friendly with an OU player.


I am just in my 2nd year officiating football here in Texas, but what do you think the official was thinking by visiably berating a player on national tv? Should we learn from this as what NOT to do as an official?

Thoughts???

Absent the contact, I see nothing wrong with this. I have no audio so he might have said something he should not have said, but chewing on a player definitely has its place in our game management tool box.

Are you perhaps wearing your fan hat?

[JugglingReferee]

I has once before made it very clear to a player that I thought he was acting unsportsmanlike, but I had no evidence. It was a type of action that would warrant an ejection. The player's look was that he was busted, but go away with one. I didn't go to the extreme that this official went to, but the emotions in a top-level D1 game are among the most intense possible - even moreso than some NFL games.

I'd like to know what force caused the ref to almost fall over. Somebody hit him (by accident I'm sure) but had the red player not been there, it's quite possible that the ref would have been knocked to the ground.

I don't see myself doing something like this, but the games I do so rarely send players to the NFL and only 85 people are in attendance.

[waltjp]

Again, don't know what was said by the official but I don't have a problem with his actions. He may have prevented a much uglier scene. We weren't on the field and don't know what happened leading up to these events. There have been many times when I've sensed trouble brewing and have reacted more aggressively to get players separated.

[ajmc]

It appears like this official did EXACTLY what he is out there to do; he was able to prevent a situation from escalating into something that could have caused an explosion and injected himself at the appropriate moment to take reasonable corrective action and by doing so maintained the composure of the game.

As for the television exposure, you might better ask, "should the player/official's exchange have been focused on"? Not on camera, or at least to the same extent, was another official starting a similar discussion with the player who was penalized. He apparently sw his job responsibilities in the same light.

[SethPDX]

I think the official did fine. It also looks like another official was talking to the Texas Tech players as he led them away. As usual, some wonderfully insightful comments from the YouTube peanut gallery.

[With_Two_Flakes]

Officiating is 50% Rules, 50% mechanics, 50% man-management. I know that adds up to 150%, but that's how hard you gotta work on some games.

These guys did fine, got amongst 'em and calmed them down.

[Welpe]

I thought that looked downright civil compared to some of the chewings I've seen professional soccer referees give players. In other words, it looked just fine to me.

[Robert Goodman]

I remember a rugby ref (probably in the Upstate NY Union) who would berate players as if morally outraged by certain acts. I thought, "Just penalize us, it's only a game!"

[grantsrc]

I think that's perfect. That is the best crew in the Big 12 and rightfully so. They all do an outstanding job.

[Ref inSoCA]

Originally Posted by Da Official

View the following video (@ 25 second mark):

YouTube - OU intercepts Graham Harrell. Ref gets friendly with an OU player.


I am just in my 2nd year officiating football here in Texas, but what do you think the official was thinking by visiably berating a player on national tv? Should we learn from this as what NOT to do as an official?

Thoughts???

Looks like he handled it properly. Maybe after you have a few year's experience you'll learn that.

[HLin NC]

You don't want to watch Jim Quirk then.
YouTube - Umpire Jim Quirk takes down Packer Nick Barnett

I loved that clip of Jim Quirk. Made me laugh a bit. I saw the berating on TV during the OU game (I was rooting for Tech because I want someone else out of the Big 12 South...Nebraska fan here!). At first, I was stunned by it. Then when I saw the replay, I was like, yeah, kid deserved a little fire in the face.

[Umpmazza]

I agree with everyone else. I didnt see anything wrong... the is called Preventive Umpiring right there. He might have stopped something from happening.

[JugglingReferee]

Is this a clip of the game where Quirk was fined a game fee?

The NFL certainly thought he went overboard.