I do not know whether you are intelligent, I just know that because you do not agree with the ruling does not mean it does not fit the spirit and intent of the rule or interpretation covered.

Yes and we shut it down. And it is also spelled out at other levels as well to be illegal. So maybe this is not one of these acceptable fake plays. ;)

It is? I guess we never ask coaches "Are there any unusual plays that we need to be aware of?" You are right; we have no right to know what they run. So much so that we ask coaches before every game to make us aware of plays they might run so we can be prepared for them and rule on them properly. In some cases tell the coach that play is illegal which they are often unaware. So I guess someone must think we have the right to ask them what plays they are running. Better yet, coaches in my area often go out of their way to tell us they are taking a knee. So I guess they gave us that right?

Peace

I guess you think that is the same as asking "what play are you running next?" It could help you officiate in some way so it isn't that stupid....but then you announce what play they told you to the defense and then call a foul if they do not run that play.

What play they are running means nothing to you, therefore it is not any of your business. You have no reason to ask.

That is why I said this

Rule 1-1-6 Covers this nicely I believe!

ART. 6 . . . The referee has authority to rule promptly, and in the spirit of good
sportsmanship, on any situation not specifically covered in the rules. The referee’s decisions are final in all matters pertaining to the game.

The fake kneel down is not covered specifically in the rule book but it stinks of Wrong ball and Where's the Tee? They are both types of deception that is disallowed as is hidden ball if you must have a live ball one to hang your hat on!

Each crew/association will use their best judgment as to how to handle this. Its not something we should get too dogmatic about.

Careful friends...lest our tone becomes counterproductive to learning...

If I asked the coach or he tells me they are taking a knee and then he fakes it, it is my job and my responsibility to make it right!!!!

Why is it hard to understand if you do not want to do something, then do not do it. I am not telling you what to do or really care at the end of the day. I am on a very experienced crew where I am the youngest person in years and I have 15 years in. We do this with great success and we are not alone where I live. If you choose to not ask or care and want the end of the game to end in a PF fest as the videos that were posted show, so be it. We are doing this and it is our duty to find out if a team has given up or is not trying to hurt each other and then give that information. If you do not want to do that, do not do that. Life will go on trust me.

Peace

We let the defense know he is taking a knee to prevent this crap. This is my 19th season of football and I have never ever had a coach question us about telling both sides that they are taking a knee. It seems that we (officials) make a bigger deal out of it than we should.

You are totally off base here...taking a knee at the end of the game is a special situation...it is not like every other play during the game no matter what you think.

Yep or +1

Peace

Exactly !!!

Why let something stupid happen at the end of the game when you have been working hard all game long to prevent it?

Hence, at 56-6 we tell our kids "they're taking a knee".

At 17-14, we are signaling to our crew members to "stay alert, see the ball, the game's not over."

If you asked the coach and he tells you he's running a reverse, and you tell the defense and he changes his mind ... what are your responsibilities there?

Let the coaches coach, let the players play, and let the officials officiate.

In our area the coaches tell us. So they obviously want their players protected. And the other coach has the class to realize the game is over and expect the same in return.

As I someone else said on this topic, it seems like officials (mostly on this page) have more of a problem with this than the coaches at the high school level. Heck at the college level many of the same procedures are followed in my experience as well.

Peace

I have 2 friends that do major college football - 1 Southland, 1 Big 12. I asked them whether they say anything to teams or if coaches say anything to them on a taking-a-knee situation.

One said, "Eff no" to the first question and "If I need a coach to tell me they are taking a knee when they line up in victory, I need a new job."

The other said, "No, never. If we did, it would be frowned upon - these guys know how to act." to the first one, and "No, why would they." to the second.

I have two friends that work the Big 10, one works the ACC and three that currently work the NFL.

They all say they alert the guys. They all tell me that if something happens and it's determined that preventative measures were not taken, they can make other plans for the following week.

Like it has been said before... depends on where you are working...

First of all we are not talking about what they do at the college ranks. We are talking about high school and specifically jurisdictions we work not what the Big 12 or Big Ten does.

But at the college ranks which I work there is some communications as our supervisor is a technical advisor for the Big Ten. Never have I heard that we do not communicate something to the players. Again those are college players and they have a better understanding of the consequences and getting ejected can have a bigger affect on their career.

Peace