I was reading the recent issue of Referee magazine (September 2003)and noted an article titled: Bayou Pols to Refs: 'Get Better'

Prompted by officiating errors in last season's Giants 49ers game, State Representative Pete Schneider (who I am going to label as DORK right now), took it upon himself to initiate legislation for sport official accountability.

The legislation passed without objection - either the entire Legislature knew the DORK was a dork and just passed it so he would shut-up... or maybe they are all dorks.

From the magazine: "His goal was to make sports officials more accountable for mistakes they make during games, and to publicly acknowledge ...errors in a timely manner in order to restore and maintain public confidence in the games."

"the NCAA, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NASO, and other professional sports association should enforce or strengthen existing rules or develop new rules for the recurrent training of referees, umpires, judges, linemen, and other sports officials under their jurisdiciton and for the retraining, censuring or dismissing of referees, umpires, judges, linemen and other sports officials who have a substandard record of making accurate calls during a contest."

It has always been a great concern of mine as to how we can elect such obviously socially, intellectually incompetent and inept people to public offices; Louisiana has got me seriously concerned now.

What would make Louisiana think they can legislate NATIONAL organizations? Amazing!

I tell you what, the leftist media, ignorant uneducated sports commentators, and the instant replay has made bonafide sports officials of every idiotic critic in the civilized world. Grab the channel changer, Earl, and bowl of them there chips cuz this is gonna be good - weez gonna censure us some officials.

OBVIOUSLY THIS IS JUST MY HUMBLE OPINION. Perhaps I am really that bad and the couch potatoes of the world are truly great officials.... but I doubt it.

Perhaps national sports such as the Super Bowl (or college sports, etc.) should no longer be held in Louisiana?

Who else has comments about this "issue."

What changes are you seeing down there in the great State of Louisiana? Are y'all gettin' a new educatin' program? Some fish-e-atin skoolin'? Anybody censured or dismissed yet? (Sorry, just funning with the language, no offense meant to the general population)

:D

[Edited by DownTownTonyBrown on Aug 28th, 2003 at 11:45 AM]

I propose concurrent legislation: Make sports participants more accountable for mistakes they make during games such as fumbles, interceptions, missed tackles, turnovers, missed free throws, stikeouts, and errors and to publicly acknowledge ...errors in a timely manner in order to restore and maintain public confidence in the games.

Two questions for Pete:

What is the standard for making "accurate calls"?
Who is the judge of what is and is not an "accurate call"?

I guess they have...

no unemployment
no poverty
no budget issues
no political corruption
no tax issues
no enviromental issues
and
no educational issues

in Louisiana. Wow, nothing to worry about but what happens at a ball game! What a great place to live! I think I'll check out the houising market!

All fair.......
 

What the hell is the houising market? I can see you are from the South.

Peace

Re: All fair.......
 

I believe that is in the Cajun/Creole low country.

In general, I agree with your analysis of this situation, but I fail to see what the "leftist media" has to do with it. But even if you're correct that it's their fault, what stand has the "rightist media" taken? Are they any better?!?

Leftist Media
 

I let the emotions of a different topic spill into this one...

But primarily the media lends validity to this banal idea that everyone can be, and should be allowed to be, a critic. That after the spontaneous decisions have been made (by officials or public leaders or parents or whoever...) that the media can go back and critique their decisions... add in extra information that wasn't considered... place importance where it wasn't originally placed... ad infinitum. Until the critic or the media (and those of us that have sucked in to their directed line of thought) look wise and the poor sap who made the instantaneous decision looks to be the idiot.

Just as my use of the word "leftist" caught your attention, the media can similarly select words that create contention.

A sports writer/reporter/commentator only has to use the word "controversial" (as in controversial call) and suddenly we know the officials have messed up the game. Was the call controversial from the official's viewpoint? Very likely NOT. Did the official really mess up the game. Again, very likely not. It was probably a call that needed to be made... did the call influence the game? Absolutely - they all do (as do the actions that prompted the need for the call). Did it determine the game? Again, very, very unlikely.

But one (player/coach/announcer/fan/Congressman) person's disagreement/dislike/emotional response/resentment can easily be passed over and never noticed. But once the response is propagated by the media through a TV screen/newspaper/300 fans/magazine/25 ESPN replays, the single, orginal resentment is now VALIDATED into the 'fact' that the descion maker was wrong! Let's pass some laws to get rid of, or remove the rights from these heinous officials/leaders/decisionmakers/generals/air traffic controllers/policemen/teachers/parents..... it's never ending.

You may have noticed that people always have the opinion that they are right... and if you agree with me you can be right too!

"A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." Under duress and the pressures of logic he may agree on the outside but within, you are still wrong and he is right.

JMHRanting... :D

I also agree with you Juulie that what we refer to as the rightist media, have been too quiet. Their unwillingness to respond to the sensationalist, leftist media is, I feel, leading to our social demise.

Re: Leftist Media
 

It's funny, because I would say that both the leftist AND the rightist, have been too sensationalistic, and no one is quietly listening at all. I don't think of Rush Limbaugh or Whoever-he-is Savage as even remotely leftist, or too quiet! The problem isn't which SIDE, but as you said earlier, an inability to ever admit to being wrong.