On the OTHER board, there is a disussion going on regarding how to handle profanity on the field. For sake of discussion, let's assume we are working a VARSITY game. Here are some situations for which I would like your input.

<ol>
<li>Player A87 drops and pass and quietly mutters a profanity to himself.</li>
<li>Player A87 drops a pass and yells at the top of his lungs something profane about the fact that he dropped the pass.</li>
<li>Player A7 gets into A87's face after A87 drops and pass and calls him a racial slur.</li>
<li>Player B23 gets into A87's face and makes fun of A87 for dropping a pass.</li>
<li>Team A is in the huddle and A7 (trying to pump up his team) yells something profane about the other team or utters a racial slur about members of the other team.</li>
<ol>

How do you handle profanity when you hear it? Does it matter what level is being worked? If so, what level do you relax a little bit?

Just curious how other handle hearing profanity.

Thanks!

Tough calls
 

I think that these are all personal calls, so it is good to see how others would call it.

#1-Probably let it pass. I might say something to him to let him now I'm watching him like "hustle back 87".

#2-Definite warning, boarderline flag. If he yells it so all can hear it so as to make a spectacle of himself, flag it. If he's way downfield and few hear, I would think that a strong warning would do.

#3-Definite flag here, no doubt on this one. The question for me would be ejection. I would lean towards yes, but I would confer with my crewmates first.

#4-Definite taunting, flag it.

#5-Tough call. I would say flag it because the comment only will serve to instigate further verbal exchanges between the teams.

Side note-The NF has once again made a point of emphasis that the rule book does not have an provisions for warnings on this, and that officials should be flagging this more often.

I agree with the above except for 3 and 5.

I would make sure a coach knows about what took place in 3 & 5 and then let him deal with it as I imagine 99.9% of them will.

Re: Tough calls
 

Like TXMike, I agree with all except 3 and 5.

For #3 I agree this a definite flag. In the Fed rule book for this section under penalties its says "any single flagrant foul is disqualification." Personally, I don't consider a player using a single racial slur to be "flagrant" per se, so I would not DQ unless there was more than just the one slur or he really got in his face with multiple slurs and profanities. I think this is an area where the chapter should adopt a single standard. A coach is probably not going to be too happy if one week his opponent is only penalized for using a racial slur, when the next, his man is DQed in a similar situation.

As for #5 I'm not going to flag it if the other team or other people in the area can't hear it. The only way I will likely flag it here is if it is clearly intended for the other team to hear it and/or they continue to use profanities after being warned. No matter who hears this in the this situation, I will warn them and talk to the coach.

[Edited by PSU213 on Aug 2nd, 2003 at 06:02 PM]

Just a quiet warning.

Quote:

<li>Player A87 drops a pass and yells at the top of his lungs something profane about the fact that he dropped the pass.</li>

Flag - USC

Quote:

<li>Player A7 gets into A87's face after A87 drops and pass and calls him a racial slur.</li>

Flag - USC and ejection.

Quote:

<li>Player B23 gets into A87's face and makes fun of A87 for dropping a pass.</li>

Flag - USC and ejection.

Quote:

<li>Team A is in the huddle and A7 (trying to pump up his team) yells something profane about the other team or utters a racial slur about members of the other team.</li> <ol>

Flag - USC and ejection.

Our state association requires that any player who taunts/baits an opponent, or who directs profantiy an opponent or an official is ejected from the contest and is suspended for the next game. Items 3-5 would fall within that requirement.

Are you guys reading #3 right?
 

The way I read # 3, the player is talking to his own player. You are gonna DQ for that????

[Edited by TXMike on Aug 2nd, 2003 at 10:13 PM]

I agree with all the responses to 1,2 and 4 since these are going to be individual situations that require mature judgement from the official(s) hearing the utterance.

Having spent a year in California and 20 in New York, the one thing that differed about sportsmanship in general was the CA players were less prone to foul language and I think Long Islanders wrote the book on profanity.

It is really going to depend on your region.

As for numbers 3 and 5, there is no place in sports for desciptions of anatomy, ancestry, religion, creed, etc.

Number 3 is between teammates and if the player does not loudly verbalize I would remind him and his coach of the fact and the potential.

Number 5 sounds like intimidation and would be rewarded with, at least, an unsportsmanlike. Compare that with someone in the huddle going, "I'm going to hurt that SOB." That player would get a USC and a threat that if that player (the SOB) was injured he would be thrown out even if he wasn't on the field. (There is no thought of doing such a questionable call but does the player know that).

Re: Are you guys reading #3 right?
 

Good point, missed that. Probably just a word of caution in that sitch.

My two cents
 

<b>quote:
Player A87 drops and pass and quietly mutters a profanity to himself.</b>

Inform the coach and let him handle it.


<b>quote:
Player A87 drops a pass and yells at the top of his lungs something profane about the fact that he dropped the pass.</b>

Anyone else hear it? If so, flag for USC. If not, let the coach know and let him handle it.


<b>quote:
Player A7 gets into A87's face after A87 drops and pass and calls him a racial slur.</b>

Flag - USC and let the coach know and let him handle it.


<b>quote:
Player B23 gets into A87's face and makes fun of A87 for dropping a pass.</B>

Flag - USC. Let the coach know and explain to him that I have already given him the opportunity to fix it.


<b>quote:
Team A is in the huddle and A7 (trying to pump up his team) yells something profane about the other team or utters a racial slur about members of the other team.</B>

Flag - USC. Let the coach know...

I understand I didn't have any ejections here, but my thought process has been to give the coach every opportunity to correct this type of situation before going to an ejection or flag. In my very, very humble opinion, I think something should be said that all officials are not consistent when handling profanity or slurs (although, it is agreed that we should be). What may bother one official, may not bother another (as evident in the answers here). Letting the coach handle something that may or may not bother us is a lot easier to be consistent with.

Personally, I have a little bit of patience for profanity and ball players. I have no patience for slurs of any kind. However, that being said, the coach may not know me and I want to give him that chance to fix something that he can control and I cannot...

Cracking down on this behavior was stressed for this past summer's OV league here in Ontario.

For (1), will let it go but perhaps remind the player that we heard that comment. (2 thru 5) call Objectionable Conduct (OC). In 3 and 5, we would consider DQ for the racial slur. If there is no DQ, talk to the HC and mention that siting that player for a bit might help. This puts the onus on the HC and the player.

League rule: a player receiving 3 UR or OC penalties is removed from that game and the next one.

Mike

Ok let me throw a wrench in here, what if these occured in a sub-varsity contest. junior high, Frosh, JV

Not always a right or wrong.
 

<b>Player A87 drops and pass and quietly mutters a profanity to himself.</b>

I might say nothing, it depends on how low the words were said.


<b>Player A87 drops a pass and yells at the top of his lungs something profane about the fact that he dropped the pass.</b>

Depends on where he is located on the field. If he is in front of his bench and the coaches get on him, I will let it go and not penalize. If the coach does not do anything, I will let the coach know what I heard and warn the player.


<b>Player A7 gets into A87's face after A87 drops and pass and calls him a racial slur.</b>

It depends. If these are two players of the same race, I will handle this much differnetly than if they are different race or ethnicity. I think things between teammates are always going to have a different dynamic than if they are talking to opponents. I had this actually happen and it was a sign of affection. I pulled the player that used the name aside and told him, "that might be alright when you are hanging out, or when you a surrounded by your peers, but this is a public and professional area. I am not going to tolerate that language in this type of setting." I had no further problems.

<b>Player B23 gets into A87's face and makes fun of A87 for dropping a pass.</b>

Easy USL Penalty.


<b>Team A is in the huddle and A7 (trying to pump up his team) yells something profane about the other team or utters a racial slur about members of the other team.</b>

Depends on the racial breakdown of all the players. If I have two teams with all Black players or All Jewish player, I am not going to handle it the same as if one team is all-Black and the other team is all-white. It will be addressed in some way, but whether there is a flag or no flag.

All of these situations sound easy, but there is never a one size fits all situation. I did a game during the last week of the year between big time, cross town rivals. Players from both sides knew each other very well (personally knew each other) and had great respect for each other. It was kind of weird, because on one hand they want to destroy the other team, but were very respectful of each other. What appeared to be trash talking at times was signs of great respect. And when there was some trash talking, it was not malicious. So you have to take every situation differently and cannot say, "in all these situations I am going to do this.....or I am going to do that." This is the reasons you need to know as much about your game as possible before you get there. Then evaluate each situation when things happen.

Just my two cents.

Peace

Re: Not always a right or wrong.
 

That is BS!!! Are you going to decide whether or not to throw a flag based on the gender/race/ethnicity, etc of the sender and receiver? #1 - They are on a team. Let the team deal with the issue by informing the coach. We are there to "referee" between the 2 teams, not to "referee" within" the team. #2 - If it is wrong for a white player to call a black player a N____ then it is wrong for a Black to call another Black the same thing.

If 2 black teams are playing and 1 Black on 1 team calls another Black on the other team a N____, are you going to flag?

And what if they are Hispanic kids and speaking in Spanish? How are you going to know what to flag then?

TXMike,

If you need some help with Spanish swearing, I think I could come up with a list of the biggies to flag for... :)

In all seriousness, if it is directed at the player's teammates or himself, then I warn and try some preventive officating first. If it is directed at the other team, I warn for minor offenses and flag for the biggies. If it happens again, or it is really blatent, they get a ticket to watch the rest of the game. It is really on a case by case, situation by situation decision. The tone of the game, timing, ancellary activity, etc. will all come into play on how I deal with it.

That word does not mean the same thing to everyone.
 

Well Mike, I am Black. I am sure because of that reality, I look at this from folks that are not my color. And let us just say, if you were my color (but I am going to take a wild guess that you are not) you could see it different from me. But considering that music, culture and everyday practices with many African-Americans, this word is used often. Now I do not agree with the usage, but I understand it's history and would rather address it with the player, rather than flagging it. And to me it is not nearly the same thing as someone outside of that race using the word. Now if you think it is not fair, so what. Life is not fair. And considering that many Black players do not see that many African-American officials, I will handle this is a way that I see best. No different than if I am in a circle of friends and this would is used.

No automatically. And probably not at all. But I would address it with the player that used it.


If they say something I understand. But I do not speak spanish and I am not going to try to make it my business to try to understand while the game is going on. If opponents are talking to each other, if I can I will say, "speak English Gentleman, if you do not want me to think you are using the wrong words." Not much else I can do outside of that. Now if we have a Spanish speaking official, he might help our crew understand those words and their context better. But that is not the case, so unless I have personal knowledge of words, I am not going to just flag something because "I think" it might sound bad. But even when I do not know what is being said (English or Spanish) I will let the players know I am there so whatever is said will stop ASAP. Because in Football, there is a lot of trash talking that you do not always hear. So I look for body language, volume and context.

One last thing. Being an Black person I do not advocate the usage of the "N" word at all. I do not use it in my daily life and have not for a very long time. But when I was the age of many of these kids, I just might have used this word around other Black people or folks my age. But I am the son of a Ph.D that was the first African-American Women to head a Department at my Alma Mater and that Department was The African-American Studies Program, I grew up around racial issues and dealing with during my education. My Mom has a Ph.D in Sociology, so we still talk about these issues and I have read many things about race from many authors that the average person, let alone
Black person has read on this issue. And my college minor was African-American Studies. Now what does this have to do with this issue, it affects the way I look at in and how I would handle this in life and on a court or field. And if I were to hear this word on the street or by someone close to me, I would address it differently depending on who used it and where we were at. If I am in a "professional" setting (like a sporting event) I am not going to scold the individual for saying it, I will pull them aside and tell them, "this is not appropriate here." And I have learned that my word means different things to kids that look like me. And because of that fact, I will use that to my advantage when appropriate. This has always worked for me, so I interact (and they do as well) with players that are my color much differently than players who are not. Just the way it is.

Peace

Profanity is wrong. Period.

Do I slip occassionally? More times than I care to admit, but I'm working on it.

When is it proper to curse in a sporting event? Never

Should you ignore or disregard? No, but sometimes all it takes is a look or a frown to convey that it is unacceptable if from afar. Other times, it takes an eyeball to eyeball discussion with the player. I personally many times have a player stop and look me in the eyes before I begin communicating with him. This ensures that he "hears" me and that I consider his action serious enough to take a second out of the game.

When is it OK for players to use racial slurs? Never. I'm not going to police the bench, but if I hear it, I'm going to again provide some gesture or look if they are away from me, and tell them that it's unacceptable if near me.

As far as opposing players trash talking in this manner, they may first get a warning, then flags, and if persistent or flagrantly disrespecting my guidance, off they go to the locker room.

Mr Rutledge:

You are apparently going to let 1 Black call another N__ but are not going to allow a White to call a Black that?

When 1 player calls another a faggot, how do you know both are not indeed queer?

Rutledge,
I can relate to everything you said in your post but I would probably handle it a little differently. While I certainly understand the use of racial slurs by people of the same race is rarely found to be offensive, the rules of the game prohibits its use and therefore should be penalized in all situations. As an official, we must remain impartial and enforce the rules equitable across the board. I would try to avoid situations where my personal bias could influence my judgement and give the perception of a favoritism.

Most of those kids know very little (and probably could care less) about the troubled and ugly history of race relations in this country. If you want to educate our youth on racial issues, how "you" handle racial situations today will have a far greater impact than telling them what happened in the 50's and 60's.

I would expect that from you.
 

I can always see the color of a player, I cannot see the sexual preference of any of them. And if there was a gay player on a team, I will take a wild guess that no one else knows it (just a guess). So if you want to think they are the same thing, be my guest. They are not, but one of the reasons we have racial problems in this country. Everything is not right or wrong or Black and White.

Peace

If you think so. But I do not enforce rules just becasue it is there. There is always situations that change the reaction I might have or not have. And if you think no one takes personal values and personal preferences on a field, I guess we can all live in that fantasy world if we want to. I choose to live in the real world and understand that everything I do on a field or court has some of my personality involved. But I guess we all can dream. ;)


We do not have to go back to 40 to 50 years ago to have kids understand racial strife. They can go to yesterday and figure out what is the issues with race. And they do not have to go look at what is happen in larger society, all they have to do is take it to a court or field and see the biases that take shape on a weekly basis. Hell a crew I worked with most of last year had a situation in a playoff game, where the issue of racial discrimination became an issue in the outcome of the game. So much that comments were made by a losing coach that suggested it was that way (In the Chicago Sun-Times I believe).

And considering that I am Black and a "white hat," outside of the Chicago Public League, I can count maybe one other official that is of my race that shares my pigmentation. So much that it was an issue for me and my crew, and we did not even kick the ball off in a game early in the year. I am not talking here about just players and their behavior, I am talking about coaches and fans that fuel this behavior as well. At least as a football official I have not had to experience many games were "race" was an issue, but it happens quite often during the basketball season. I guess we all do not have the same issues during our games. ;)

Peace

To me, I warn the player in A that if I hear him cussing again I will flag him. All others I flag for 15 USC.

Why are you surprised?? You clearly have 1 set of rules for Blacks and another for non-Blacks.

Black people have been trying to tell people of the Caucasian persuasion that for a long time. Now you want to act like you are surprised. Typical. ;)

Peace

I didn't really read all of the messages because I'm really busy at work, but in my game, if there is any slurring (racial, religious, etc...) at all, from one player to another, a flag is throw with possible ejection.

I don't care what religion you are, what skin colour you have, etc.... I run a zero tolerance policy. Everybody knows this is ow we do things and we rarely rarely have an issue.

Mike

Black people have been trying to tell people of the Caucasian persuasion that blacks clearly have 1 set of rules for Blacks and another for non-Blacks for a long time? :confused:

A racial slur is a racial slur, no matter what race the person is who uses it.





[Edited by BktBallRef on Aug 6th, 2003 at 09:18 AM]

Tony, this is not North Carolina
 

I expect someone that is white or is not apart of that particular group to say that. Especially the with the backdrop of what is in the culture and in the music industry. Funny you never hear Eminem use that word, but you hear 50 cents, Busta Rymes or JA Rule use these words all the time. So there is a difference and it really does not matter what you think. You are not of that persuasion, so your opinion only goes so far. Especially when it comes to what I or other Black officials are going to do and how we handle it. ;) I am sure there are put downs or "slurs" that you would not even recognize because you are not within the group of people that use them. There are more words than the N__ word that fit the same definition.

No different than me trying to tell Spanish speaking officials how to handle language issues when they are on the field.

Peace

Enough Already!!
 

Mr. Rutledge and others,

With all due respect, why don't we get back to football discussion. We are not going to solve the topic of race relations here!

Certainly, we all bring biases onto the field. Heck, we're human and all have different faults. But, the best officials I've seen (choose your color, race, religion, etc.) do their best to be as objective as possible when working a football game. They minimize their subjectivity and rule based on fairness as prescribed by the rules.

Any official that uses the common sense necessary to call a good game for the purpose of providing preference to players, coaches, etc. is providing a disservice and hurts all in our avocation.

Re: Enough Already!!
 

With all due respect, this is very much about football. And if you think it is not, do a Brother Rice/Crane Football game and tell me if you will not have to deal with this issue in some way?


Well that sound all great in the "utopia" that you like to live in, but when I did Proviso East/Oak Park River Forest game, race was brought into the game right off the bat. Not something I wanted or wished for. And guess what, I had to deal with it, regardless of how objective I was about it. To also add, I was approached in a manner that some of my crew members were not addressed. But maybe if my head was in the sand, I might not realize that I have to stop a potential timebomb waiting to happen. I had to address it with my crew members (Black and white) that day, it plays a part in how we handle it and how we discuss it here.


You are right. But common sense varies from your background and your experience. And if you have never had to do any games in any sport and race was an issue or going to be one (whether you liked it or not) then I can see your point of view. But if you do a Chicago Catholic League team against certain Chicago Public League teams, you will see and experience some racial issues on the field. And considering that many Black kids do not see very many (depending on area) officials with my color, they approach me much differently than they do my white counterparts. Just the way it is.

Peace

Obviously the race issue is very complicated, and therefore I do not have the time or space to give it its due here, so I want to stick with the practical problem of the game situaion.

As a white man I do not understand why 2 black people can call each other the N-word and no offense is taken, but I accept that that is the situation, and personally I have no problem with two blacks using that word among one another. I do however see a problem allowing a double standard on the football field.

If in the huddle of a team of all black players, one says to the other "hey go out there and hit that N--" referring to the other team's black running back, I could be inclined to do nothing. What happens though if few plays later a white player on the second team says "lets go get those N--'s." If I don't penalize the first situation how do I explain the flag on the second? "Well, you have to understand the culture differences between you and the other team. If you did, you would know that it is acceptable for one black to use that term towards another black, but it is unacceptable for you to use it." No matter how well intentioned it may be, the double standard will create a world of problems.

Furthermore, there are many whites who have been "accepted" into the black culture and can refer to black friends and team mates as N--'s. If a white player uses the N word, am I supposed to ask his teammates if he is one of the players "allowed" to use the word, or do I just automatically penalize him because the standard for white players is they are never allowed to use the word?

I know it sounds like I am taking the easy way out of this, but under the situation of a football game, it is not practical to be able to consider the cultural aspects of the actions and words being used. In the context of a football game, I find it a bit ridiculous to use the rule "it's OK for blacks to use the word, but penalize any white players who use it." Understanding and applying all the aspects of a players culture to the football game are difficult, and I admit it is oversimplifying the issue to say "it's a penalty for anyone who uses the N-word," but it is no more of a simplification than saying "only black players can use that word." Unfortunately neither situation provides a satisfactory answer, so I believe the best course of action is to use one standard for every player.

Mr Rutledge,
I too am a black official, was raised in a black community, and educated in a black educational institution. I applaud your willingness to speak openly and honestly about these issues. But I still respectfully disagree with you and here's the reason why. There is nothing wrong with seeing the world as "black and white" as long as you do not allow your views of "black and/or white" to offend, harm, or place at an unfair disadvantage as a result of your views. You must be very careful when you allow your personal bias's to influence a situation like this. Without a doubt, the best way to deal with this situation is to handle it in a professional manner and leave your personal bias out of the situation. Easier said than done you might think but I think how you handle this situation is what separates the men from the boys--the professional from the amateur--wisdom from foolish--right from wrong.

"Do the Right Thing"
--Spike Lee

Game sense from nonsense.

Read the all my posts.
 

For those that want to say, "you are saying it is OK to have Black people use the N--word," then all of you need to go back and read the posts I made. Take everything in context, not just one line and come to a conclusion.

I grew up in a house where this word was not acceptable, was not used and was not condoned in any way. But having said that, there are people in my family (cousins, uncles and aunts) that might use that word in conversation, no matter what I think about it or what my Mom's <b>(who was the main person against my usage as a child, especially with her education background and time she grew up)</b> attitudes about the subject.

If any of you actually READ my responses, I said "I would handle it differently." Mainly because the usage of the word whether I agree or not agree has a completely different context for those that use the word of the same race as compared to a white person using the word. And if you do not believe me, I challenge anyone white to say that around in a mostly Black crowd. Then come back and tell me if you think there is not a difference. ;) So for the person that claims there are some white folks that can use the word and have acceptance, well I have never met them. And if they used that word around the people I associate with, they might find their teeth on the floor. But that is just the many Black folks I know.

The two times this word was used by a Black player talking to his Black teammate during a game, I pulled the players aside, I told them basically, "You would not use that word in your classroom, you would not use that word around your coaches, do not use that word on my field." Both kids said basically, "OK" and it did not happen again. In both cases, I had white coaches and did not feel that they would understand, nor address it to my satisifaction, so I addressed it myself (not much different than many situations on the football field). These kids realized that they had some Black official on the field and showed respect like they do in many other situation in their lives. No different than what I would have done if they players dropped F-bombs that I was the only one to hear. And being a Referee, I have learned to address many situations outside of race and they are dealt with and solved by my words or my umpire's words. Those things can range from taunting to complaining about penalties. And if I took this "black and white" approach, then I would flag everyone for any unsportsmanlike offense and do so 5 or 6 times a game.

Considering that this is something never addressed by the "higher ups" who are all white, I stand by my application of this rule as it relates to people that look like me. And when I have talked to other officials that are not Black, I have helped them understand what is important to them. And just like calling holding, I am going to use "common sense." And common sense is not to call holding on the opposite side of the field of where the ball was run. Common sense is to address a situation (especially when I am the only person that hears it) in a way that stops the action without a flag, in my opinion I have won if I do not have to take out the yellow hankie. I do not have to explain this to the coach and I do not have to debate whether it happen.

I guess 2 years ago my (all-Black crew) basketball crew should have T'd a white coach for bringing this to our attention. This coach was claiming his only Black player (all white opponents) was being called that by the visiting team. I guess because he actually used the words and did not say, "he called him the N-word," we should have just T'd and ejected him for such language. Something my all-Black officiating crew would have definitely addressed if we heard it. But because this was such a controversy at the time, the AD from the visiting team (who we knew very well and is white for the record) had his players run for the apparent slur used by their players. But none of that is important, this coach used a racial slur, so we have to go by the letter of the law and use little common sense at all because the "N-word" was used. BTW, what does this have to do with football? Well the rules are pretty much the same in all sports I have officiated or umpired on this issue. It might not be a flag, but it is unsportsmanlike in nature in all sports I have done over my career. It might not be a flag, but it is a T or an ejection depending on the sport.

Peace

First, and this is a stupid thing to get into a debate over, I must comment that during my observations at a school in the Philadelphia area there were a few occations where white students used the N-word while hanging out in the hall with their "clique" of mostly black friends. This is certainly not the norm, but if you take it to the field, it just shows why handling the situation in different ways based on skin color can create problems.

On a more substantial point, if the slur was used between teammates and it was not heard by the other team, fans, etc. a stern warning and a mention of it to the coach will be my initial action (and that is totally independent of the coach's and player's skin color). If the comment is heard by opponents, fans, etc. I am going to flag it, again independent of skin color.

I can never appreciate what the N-word means to African-Americans. I cannot know what it feels like to have that word used in a hateful manner towards me, and, in contrast, I cannot know why it is acceptable in conversation between blacks. That will create some close-mindedness about the subject on my part, but I cannot justify the use of that word as a part of normal public discourse. If I take the use of the word out of context and I flag it, I apologize, but when the public arena of a football game is entered, those in attendance should have a reasonable expectation of not having to hear a word that through much of its history has been considered hateful. Therefore, irrespective of the context or intent of the speaker, if it is generally heard, I am going to flag it.

[Edited by PSU213 on Aug 6th, 2003 at 07:39 PM]

There is not a single discussion here that is a "stupid" one. Mike asked the questions for a reason. And this discussion will make someone come to some kind of conclusion as to what they will do on the field, instead of being surprised by the situation if it occurs. I am sure some official has never dealt with this situation and will be better for it. Even I will admit until recently this was not even a concern of mine and I had no philosophy as to how to handle many of these situations. After they happen I came up with some basic personal rules to follow. Now if that does not fit your feelings or your philsophy, that is not a bad thing. You have the right to have your own philosophy and do whatever you see as right.

I have been fortunate to work with many different crews over my career. All of them had a philosophy or something that I might not have agreed with. But the thing I always get out of it, is that it works for them. That is all that matters. So whether you live in Illinois, North Carolina or Florida, you have to come up with the things that work for you and only you. Maybe you are influenced by the official around you, but in the end you have to decide what you are going to do. And if you can live with that, you are doing the right thing.

I started officiating in rural Illinois where I was the only Black person on the field in most cases (coaches, players and many times fans). When I moved to the Chicago area, I had to deal with some challenges that were race related that I never had to confront. And I am sure that many here are in on both ends of the spectrum.

Peace

Mr Rutledge,
I would like to make one final comment and I will try not to post on this subject again as I feel like I'm repeating myself and what others have already posted. Maybe I'm not understanding you or taking the time to read all of your posts but it appears to me that your views of people are centered around black and white...from the "higher ups" who are all white to your "all black crew". Nothing wrong with having an all black or all white crew UNTIL you allow black or white to become the standard or value by which you live. In other words, I do not side or support blacks just because they are black. I stand on the side of righteousness regardless of race, gender, age, and even sexuality (thats right, gay people have rights too and they have a right to be heard). Diversity is a beautiful thing my friend. I encourage you and everyone else to consider diversifying your crew with the token white, black, hispanic, or asian to help you and others grow beyond the barriers of racial/cultural differences. If you do this you will find that we are different in some ways but in many ways we are also alike. If you do this you will learn to respect each others differences and expand your thinking beyond your own experiences. If you can expand your thinking beyond your own experiences, then hopefully you will see the wrong in allowing race to influence your call as an official when it (race) has absolutely nothing to do with the application or enforcement of this rule.

Stupid was not the right word to use. All I meant was that the part on whites who had been accepted into the African-Amercian culture was a minor point in my original post on the manner.

This has been a great discussion, and, Mr. Rutlidge, I can promise you that I will reflect upon your thoughts on the cultural issues in football. Obviously there are differences in how we approach the general issue of culture and football and in how we approach the specific issue of racial slurs. Fortunately we were able to express our thoughts on here in an intelligent manner, and I hope all parties involved will grow as officials as a result. At the very least, I will have something new to think about as I approach this new season.

Not sure I understand you point.
 

Derock1986,

Maybe you have a major point in all that I will later understand, but I rarely have a choice to who I work with during any games. Even my football crew has a racial background that kind of just happen, rather than being by design. All I am sharing with you is what has happen with certain officials during particular games. If certain people did not work out, I and my umpire who are Black would not even be on this crew. And it is that simple.

Peace