Last night I am working a Mens League and in the first inning a ball got loose when the third baseman missed it. He and the player sliding into 3rd get tangled up (incidental contact in my view). Anyway one a couple guys use the magic F word. I dont know who it was and so I tell the team that word doesnt fly and if it is used again someone very well may end up sitting.

2 innings later their batter hits a can of corn and uses the F bomb again. Not real loud, and as the team had started with 9 guys, I figured I will cut him a break. I tell the manager that if I hear another one from his team, the player will be ejected. Also, since they wouldnt have enough players to finish they would end up forfeiting.

The next inning the same team scores about 15 runs and in the bottom of the 4th gives up a couple so we end up "flip-flopping". They are now essentiall in the field and only need to stop the other team from scoring 5 runs and they would win.

Two on and Two outs. No runs scored yet. Batter hits a ball to the CF. CF overthrows the third baseman and ball goes into the dugout. SS immediately drop the F bomb. I just dont understand why this guy could not control his mouth, especially during fall ball.

I end up ejecting him, forfeiting the game to the team that was losing by 12 runs.

The forfeited team apologized afterwards, and admitted that they had ample warning. At least they didnt blame me for costing them the game.

One reason why an umpire should not give ultimatums. If you are going to tell someone "one more time" or something similar, you better be prepared to follow through or your credibility is history.


I have no problem with what you did. I wouldn't do it, but that is me.

Let me raise this issue again. What is it about this word that gets people so upset? You can hear the following anywhere, including some broadcast TV/Radio stations:

Boning
Friggin'
Freaking
Humping
Making love
Laying wood
Boinking
Boffing

I'm sure I forgot a few, but even though many draw the same images in one's mind, what is it about the "F" bomb as everyone loves to call it, that brings out the morality police in many people?

What is it about this country that seems to require people to draw a line in the sand?

Presently on TV and radio, someone can say "god" and "damn", but it is forbidden to say god damn. Yet, the same people who deplore this verbage are also those who tout their religion and the bible which leaves the authority of damnation to hell in god's hand. Hipocracy? I don't think so, but an argument could be made. It is just that like many things in our lives, someone, somewhere at sometime determined what is right or wrong for peole to read, see or hear.

Just an observation, not saying that anyone or their belief is right or wrong.

Because their emotional maturity stops at age 12.

Bob

Yeah, that too! :)

I usually read and keep quiet. Here is my opinion on this one. What did the player do wrong? You are imposing your moral (mine too) upon him. Mike has worked ASA National Tournaments. Ever worked any teams from New York City. The "f-bomb" is used as a noun, verb, adjective and even an adverb! And it is acceptable in their local culture, so in the premises that this country was built on, who am I to tell them they are right or wrong.

As an aside, the leagues that I adminstrate all have a profanity rule. First time a warning, second time and out. That is what the teams want. If they want it, get a rule. After all we are paid to enforce the rules not make them up.

Why did I eject?????
 

Well here is the thing. No moral judgement of mine here (even though I cant understand the need to use this word). This year at the umpire sanctioning meeting I attended either the State or Regional UIC doing the meeting made a point of telling everyone that usage of the "F bomb" is strictly forbidden.

He went so far as saying that if they were watching a game and this term was used and we did not take care of it - we would be pulled off of the field.

Anyway, I just dont get why players that are winning by 12 runs in the last inning cant stifle their language for 2 more outs. Especially when they know what the outcome is going to be.

:D :D

http://img.tfd.com/dict/100/794719-intercourse.gif

Re: Why did I eject?????
 

And that is an absurd thing to say, but this is my point. You have an individual imposing his/her beliefs on the rest of the world regardless of the culture.

And to tell you that s/he would pull you off the field is atrocious.

So, if my belief is that it is ok to attack someone with a bat, it is ok and an umpire shouldn't step in? The F word isn't physical but it hurts some people.

Okay, I guess that terminates the intelligent side of this discussion.

No, words do not hurt. Offend maybe, but if that one word offends, why to not the others?

This thread moved to a blanket statement mandating another's belief be invoked upon others without regard to their feelings, beliefs or opinion. I'm sorry, but I did not give up four years of my life so someone else tell me how to run it.

I do not subscribe to that belief, but I do not fault those who forewarn teams about profanity enforcing the rule for that game.

Do not take this to say I condone misbehavior on the field or loud outbursts. If I believe something is inappropriate for the circumstances, I do talk to players and they tone it down. I do not start calling people out and ejecting them from games. Those who are problematic will not accept the quiet warning and will eventually challenge the umpire and then they go.

How convenient that this item was on the AOL News page tonight.

It's about the study of cursing.


http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/arti..._ccc=6&cid=842

Obviously, it must be a problem that is getting worse, because it seems like more and more states are adopting a casual profanity rule. It is just me, but if it is a word someone wouldn't use in front of their mother, it probably shouldn't be hollered out at a game. Dave

Is it obvious it (language) is getting worse, or is it obvious that more locales seem to think they need to enforce their beliefs and morality on others?

My mother or your mother? I don't want the prudishness of your mother dictated to my industrial league.

It's also interesting to hear the pompous opinions of those that pharisaically think morality and language are synonymous.

Maybe the intelligence level of the players are dropping to the point they have limited language.

Where would you draw the line?
 

Where I am work, they have decided that using profanity should not be a part of the game. I had a left fielder boot one 2 weeks ago and everyone in the park heard him use the Magic F bomb. The ump of another field even asked me what had happened. Anyway he was ejected because of his flagrant use of profanity.

What would you allow?

Is it ok to use it at all?
What if you direct it at another player?
What if it is directed at you?


We can go round and round on this I would imagine, but the stance being taken here is dont allow it. Some casual stuff, like the pop up, mumble to yourself stuff is fine. However, if the rest of the park can hear it well have a seat.

A 14 year old pitcher using it at a runner on the opposing team got her tossed. Her coach's use of it directed at me as a result of disagreeing with my decision got him a forfeit.

Zero tolerance in youth ball.

[Edited by coachsara on Sep 21st, 2005 at 02:07 PM]

By saying it is not our job to bring in morality when someone uses the F bomb, you are bringing your morality or lack of it into the mix. Dave

How about just using a little common sense? Here our adult rec. leagues prohibit profanity in their local rules. I cover this at the pregame by reminiding them of the local rule and informing them that depending on what they say and how loud they say it this may be the only warning they recieve. Then just use a little common sense, if it's 10:30p and the only ones at the park are on the field I'll let most anything go. If little Timmy is at the fence and just learned a new word from Bubba the first baseman we have a problem. This should be one of those things that depend on the situation, not the morality police.

Okay, I'll try this again. Who says using that word is immoral?

Seriously? Just where along the line did someone determine that this word was inappropriate in public? There are enough educated seniors on the board, that I expect an intelligent answer to this question.

Since Dave has chosen to take this to the extreme, I wonder what he was reading as it certainly wasn't any of the posts in this thread.

No one stated it should be ignored. No one said baldgriff was wrong in handling it the way he did. No one has suggested anything other than the manner in which it is handled. Can you disagree with differing opinions? Sure. Can you condemn others just because their beliefs don't fall in line with yours? You can, but that is your option, nothing more than others would expect from you in a free country.

Well I guess if I bring my opinion to this board, I get the "intelligent conversation ends here" and "prudishness of my mother" brought up, yet others bring up their opinions and it is fine. Guess I'll just make sure I watch what I say. Dave

Here's my 2-cents; I hear what you're saying, in some areas of the country, different terms and language is used more readily and is accepted as "standard". I'm from the south and sometimes when seeing if someone wants to go to lunch, we might say "dgeatyet?". We have alot of strange words like that that we use regularly but that doesn't make it right. The Fbomb is the Fbomb, is the Fbomb. We all have different moral and religeous convictions about this but in my book, that's an unacceptable word.

During a HS game I gotta say you cannot get away with an Fbomb in the classroom so you cannot get away with it on the field. The fields where I work SP, they tell us that if it offends the umpire in the 6th or 7th inning, then it better have offended you in the 2nd inning. If it offends the ump, we are to warn then eject.

Funny you should ask...
 

I doubt any of the seniors on the board would be able to answer based solely upon recollection. If so, they would have to be about 300 years old.

If you ever have the chance to work with me and so desire, I'll rip off some Middle English for you. My remembrance of college classes gone way by tell me the "f" word goes back that far, to the 1100s or 1200s (like many of our other words) in pretty much its present sense. Apparently it was not considered to be a vulgarity until around the 1700s, but was never used to any large extent until more modern times. (As an aside, if it were to have been considered a vulgarity, and/or a word used a great deal, Chaucer probably would have used it in the Tales. He DID use the "c" word, among others. Here's another thought: if someone used the "c" word on the field, would we toss them even more quickly than the various ways in which the "f" word can be used?)

BTW, I'm not exactly the morality police, but there are no "f" bombs ever in a youth game I work (well, not more than one). In adult ball, I'm pretty lenient...

Re: Funny you should ask...
 

One being a verb, the other a noun, I would say the noun could be considered a disparaging remark toward another player, coach or umpire.

How about the "r" word? Does the "r" word merit immediate ejection?

Interesting and irrelevant side note... ASA COED Major..... unhappy player calls blue a "puta"... MOST of the people in the stands knew that wasnt a good thing. Umpire ran him.

No idea. WTF is the "r" word?