Game Protest Brewing in California

[JugglingReferee]

The official that won't own up to an IW that cost a team a championship must quit officiating immediately.

That's rght - you read that correctly. Whoever you are. Quit. And now. Unbelievable.

[JasonTX]

Perhaps there is another side to this story that isn't being quoted properly in the article.

[kfo9494]

Originally Posted by JasonTX

Perhaps there is another side to this story that isn't being quoted properly in the article.

We hope!

[JugglingReferee]

If the call on the field isn't reversed, the only right thing to do is to award co-champions.

On another note, a poster on another site was correct: if there was in fact an IW as R1 picked up the kicked ball, why did the crew let the play continue, and so much as a team running it back to break a tackle and 50 yards for a touchdown? It is unbelievable that these are championship quality officials.

If it is true that the whistle can't be heard on video sources, I find it difficult to believe that an IW actually happened. There are three different video sources, and not one of them picked up the IW?

Three minutes to conference? Pathetic....

[GPC2]

Juggling - you okay? Is the cold getting to you up there? You seem extremely perturbed.

I would assume *somebody* blew a whistle, since they huddled about it. If not - that's pretty bad. Although we get assailed a lot, it is our duty as officials to be upstanding and honest - and sometimes we must admit fault no matter how hard it may be. Hopefully the official that blew the whistle will fess up - and if it is determined that no official actually blew a whistle, then that crew should be harshly punished - maybe a one year suspension.

[Forksref]

How many times have I said, "Drop the whistle from your mouth at the snap/free kick?"

YIKES!

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by GPC2

Juggling - you okay? Is the cold getting to you up there? You seem extremely perturbed.

I would assume *somebody* blew a whistle, since they huddled about it. If not - that's pretty bad. Although we get assailed a lot, it is our duty as officials to be upstanding and honest - and sometimes we must admit fault no matter how hard it may be. Hopefully the official that blew the whistle will fess up - and if it is determined that no official actually blew a whistle, then that crew should be harshly punished - maybe a one year suspension.

It's situations like in the OP that gives people good reason to hate referees. And I don't blame them one bit.

Even if it out comes out that the author is a piss-poor journalist, most people know that corrections/retractions aren't seen by all people that saw the original story. And thus officials get a bad persona.

Three cameras with no evidence of an IW?
The CC couldn't tell the coach which official had the IW.
- I think couldn't can only mean: (a) it is against policy to inform coaches who had the IW, or (b) he didn't know who had the IW.
- If either (a) or (b) is true, you bet that the coach is pissed, and rightfully so.
- Wouldn't tell the coach who had the IW is different. Still stupid, imho, though.

Also note that Jorgensen never said that the correct call was made... only that the situation is "unfortunate".

[ref18]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

If the call on the field isn't reversed, the only right thing to do is to award co-champions.

I believe that's the wrong thing to do. You can't reverse the call, because players stop playing when they hear a whistle. The defense stops defending and that could very well have led to the touchdown. And you can't award "co-champions" as only one team won.

The rules are quite clear to do in that situation, and it seems like they did it. You can't reverse the call on the field. You have to address it the same way you'd address an inadvertent whistle on the opening kickoff of the first game of the year. This shouldn't be protestable as it's not a misapplication of rules, it's a judgment call made by the officials, yes it may have been bad judgment, but it's still a judgment call. And kudos for the Ref for not revealing who blew it. The official probably feels like **** because of it, and you don't need to pour salt on the wound by selling out a member of your crew to the coaches. I'm pretty sure those on the crew know who blew it. And I'm hoping he had to cover the hefty bar bill that was part of the post game.

Let he who has never blown an inadvertent whistle cast the first stone.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by ref18

I believe that's the wrong thing to do. You can't reverse the call, because players stop playing when they hear a whistle. The defense stops defending and that could very well have led to the touchdown. And you can't award "co-champions" as only one team won.

The rules are quite clear to do in that situation, and it seems like they did it. You can't reverse the call on the field. You have to address it the same way you'd address an inadvertent whistle on the opening kickoff of the first game of the year. This shouldn't be protestable as it's not a misapplication of rules, it's a judgment call made by the officials, yes it may have been bad judgment, but it's still a judgment call. And kudos for the Ref for not revealing who blew it. The official probably feels like **** because of it, and you don't need to pour salt on the wound by selling out a member of your crew to the coaches. I'm pretty sure those on the crew know who blew it. And I'm hoping he had to cover the hefty bar bill that was part of the post game.

Let he who has never blown an inadvertent whistle cast the first stone.

So early in the season you're going to not tell a coach who had the IW? Tell me again why he doesn't have a right to know, especially when there is often a system in place where coaches rate officials.

Many US high school systems work like this. There's a league called the OVFL where coaches grade officials. Are you saying that a crew should hide who blew an IW so that the coach doesn't have a chance to issue a downgrade to that individual?

[ajmc]

Absolutely, for several reasons. First, IW is a mistake, albeit a big mistake, that affects one play out of 100+ that comprise a game. It is highly doubtful that will be the only mistake your crew will make that game.

Second, we function as a crew and every mistake we collectively make is attributed to our crew. A crew MUST function as a unit to be successful.

Third, from an officiating perspective, the biggest problem resulting from an IW, is getting the official who made that (big) mistake to get past making it and back into working the game. Prolonging that period of self review/self doubt only detracts from the ability of the crew to do it's job.

Fourth, identifying the official will ONLY serve to prolong the effect his mistake will have on his ability to function properly for the remainder of the game, and 999 sidelines, out of 1,000, will rub as much salt as possible into that official's hide, especially if it's a wing official.

Fifth, throwing a fellow crew member "under the bus" will do little to minimize the effect that one IW has on crew ratings (all crew ratings) and will deminish whatever level of respect the offended sideline may have had for the officiating crew (the entire crew).

As with any any discussion with the sideline explaining any unusual, or unfortunate, situation the tone should be businesslike, matter of fact and reflect the proper ruling. Identifying the specific official serves no constructive purpose and raises the possibilities of having to deal with subsequent problems that would be otherwise totally avoidable.

Coaches ratings are what they are, worrying about them during a game or adjusting your performance to influence them is a fool's pursuit and can create a lot more damage than any benefit.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by ref18

Let he who has never blown an inadvertent whistle cast the first stone.

But don't admit it.