Inappropriate Wording
 

16U ASA Regional Tourney. We got 2 teams playing for a National Bid because of some backdoor dealings. Both are from the that part of the state, Southern Cal.

I'm the BU. From the first pitch coach starts in about the pitcher being Illegal, trust me, she wasn't. Coach trys to come out on the field and stand over along the fence "to see what I was seeing. " I ran him quickly back into the dugout. He keeps running his mouth for the whole top of the first.
The manager is the 3B coach. After the inning I talk to the manager and I said " Put a muzzle on him or give him directions to the hotel. "
I didn't say like a meanie or with attitude, not much anyway, but professional.

Partner thought I was over the line.....

What say you guys ?

PS. For what its worth not a peep from that point on. Also they won and I had them again.

By game 2 he was my long lost drinking buddy.

I probably wouldn't have put it that way. You're basically comparing him to a dog.

I've been guilty of putting my foot in my mouth as well. I once told a leftfielder "shut your mouth," which is throwing disrespect on top of disrespect.

Be the bigger person (despite how much we REALLY want to stomp 'em).

Don't insult my dogs. ;)

I wouldn't have used those words, but something along the line of, "Coach, reign in your assistant or he's risking finishing the game out in the parking lot." I know this isn't the best sounding line, but the manager will get it so fast, the assistant's head will spin.

And before you think I'm being high and mighty, yes, I've said some things I've wished back. I told a manager in slow-pitch once that his batter needed to knock off the Chevy Chase imitation of President Ford or I was going to impeach his a$$ to the parking lot. I just couldn't believe this dude was drunk enough for a coed rec game that he had to swing and miss so wildly he was falling down, and it was the second time during the game. The first time I just marked it off as him really swinging and missing, but the second, nah, I knew he was drunk off his a$$.

One inappropriate wording I heard from a partner once was "Coach, wheel yourself right out of here" while ejecting a manager who was in a wheelchair. After the game, the partner felt bad about his word choice, which he said in the heat of the moment in a travel team league.

I usually tell the coach that so-and-so had better cool it, or that they're skating on thin ice. If I'm addressing the player/coach directly about their own behavior, I tell them, "that's enough." I'm not out to put on a show or to make a fella look the fool. I let them do that on their own.

Sometimes, you just can't help it. Someone gets under your skin, the moment seizes you, and you just have to say it. I'm sure that everyone's been there. And sometimes, just sometimes... It's damn funny. :D

Wow. Don't know if I would've gone there. I had this image come to mind as a potential reaction from the coach...

Not a problem with me. Of course, he may not have lasted that long with me. He is an adult (allegedly) and responsible for his own actions. I find nothing inappropriate with any word you used. Tell your partner to go back to the commune.

Quash that right away. You waited too long to have him muzzled. I would have told him myself and then probably warned the coach between innings. I also have no problem with the wording.

I know, right? My dog at least knows when a pitcher is legal or not, 'cause he barks twice when she's not. :)

ChessRef: I don't think the wording was over the line or insulting. However, I personnally try not to choose words that could be interpreted as a challenge. I usually get better results by keeping it simple instead of trying to find some 'cute' phrase.

It could have been just as easily handle with, "Coach, we can't have that from your assistant coach, so you should take care of it before we have to."

(I also agree you probably should have done it a little earlier.)

Not a problem with the wording at all

Given the context and the constant barking by the coach, the phrase seems quite accurate. It worked here but could backfire with someone else as SC Ump suggests.

I think the important question is would your UIC be ok with this language.

100% inappropriate and unprofessional

It's not like you told him to shut his forking mouth. Heck, I might even give you points for originality.

I might have muzzled him earlier, but I also know I wasn't there. Personally, I would have no problem with what you said.

at a tourney in PA there was a guy that told the coach to shut the
F up and sit on his bucket.( just for context the site was REALLY spread out) The coach talked to a friend of mine who was the UIC and the UIC of the site was adiment that an umpire would NEVER say that .... so when the umpire came off the field the UIC asked " Hey what did you tell that coach?" ... Umpire replied, " Oh that one?... I told him to shut the F up and sit on his bucket." So the UIC had to actually apologize to a coach ... something I know that guy has never done before ;) and btw he didnt just say F he used the whole word that I am abbriviating :cool:

So what? Who cares? Its a ****ing word used for emphasis!!! It can only cause harm to those choosing to perceive the word as harmful. Anyone offended by a simple word must be into self-desecration and/or self-pity.

WTF is wrong with the people of this country? Nothing, but a bunch of damn commies! Next thing you know, a soccer game is going to break out!

Join P-O-O-P now!

OK lets have inappropriate time..

A real jerk of a coach was nagging on my UIC about an issue. I'm getting ready to start my game so I walk past them, he starts nagging at me about calls and this and that. Hes really going on and on while walking with me onto the field. Im probably 30 feet into the field (coming in from RF) and I dump him. He says "I'm not even playing and now I got you!" I look at the teams, and yep, its not even his teams on the field. Hes literally nagging at me for nothing. So I say "Well then, youre an @$$hole.".

A 14U player warming up heard it and gasped :rolleyes:, he acted like he'd never heard the word @$$hole and vowed I'd never work again and went running to the UIC. He also summoned the girl as exhibit A.

Totally lame but I got a good talking too. :cool: :D

Well, anyone who's ever met me for longer than 2 minutes will know that "F" is my favorite word in the dictionary, and I'm notorious for using it creatively. At work, I don't fix computers, I unf*** them.

However, it is my opinion that as an umpire, it is my job to comport myself in a fashion that is befitting and respectful of the uniform I wear. It is what sets me apart from coaches and players. They can cuss and swear and b1tch and moan all they want. For me to behave as they do would be for me to drop down to their level. Why debase myself that way (even though I'd love to tell half the coaches and players out there to go f*** themselves)?

On the field, I do my best to behave as a gentleman. Off the field, I'm like a f***ing sailor.

Last year I muttered under my breath that 'people from Richmond are idiots', I had a fan/dad/coach that was yelling about every pitch in the batters box that I should have called a strike. The catcher complained to her coach(see guy above) and then he complained to the UIC, groomsman in the upcoming nuptials. HE ranted to the UIC for a bit and then said 'the worst part is I'm not even from Richmond, I'm from Chesterfield'. Now, admittedly, Chesterfield is about 10 miles away, but I am sure that when he is away somewhere and tells people he is from Chesterfield they ask what it is close to and he replies, it's a suburb of Richmond.

The best part is, when I got my 'talking to' the UIC said "You've been talked to and by the way, that guy is an idiot!".

I really don't care what word to which anyone is referring.

If I wanted to live in the type of world this country is becoming, I would have been born in Communist Russia.

Acting in a professional manner is an obvious must for an umpire. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean we are not allowed to speak and use words meant to communicate an idea, meaning or intention. The word "muzzle" was an appropriate word to use in the scenario described. Of course, if anyone would bother using a dictionary, that would be a no brainer.

<DT class=hwrd>From Merriam-Webster:<DT class=hwrd> <DT class=hwrd>Main Entry: <DD class=hwrd><SUP>1</SUP>muz·zle http://www.merriam-webster.com/images/audio.gif</DD><DT class=pron>Pronunciation: <DD class=pron>\ˈmə-zəl\ </DD><DT class=func>Function: <DD class=func>noun </DD><DT class=ety>Etymology: <DD class=ety>Middle English mosel, from Middle French musel, from Old French *mus mouth of an animal, from Medieval Latin musus </DD><DT class=date>Date: 15th century </DT>1: the projecting jaws and nose of an animal : snout
2 a: a fastening or covering for the mouth of an animal used to prevent eating or biting
b: something (as censorship) that restrains normal expression
3: the open end of an implement ; especially : the discharging end of a weapon

But in our present society, people think the worse and it makes them feel superior by finding fault in others instead of examing their own reflection.

Yes, society has gotten a little too tender, and I agree it needs to "toughen up" some. You and I are on the same wavelength, Mike (just ask my wife - she's heard plenty of rants from me on the subject). And yes, I believe that words are just words, and that it's the listener's context that makes their meaning take shape. Not the speaker's, but the listener's. If it were the speaker's context, no one would ever be misunderstood, now would they?

However, when I'm on the field, I always choose my words carefully. Not because I'm afraid of offending someone's overly-delicate senses, but because I believe that allowing yourself to express yourself in that fashion while in uniform doesn't illustrate a cool, calm and collected umpire in control of the game. Coaches and players will always push to see if they can break us, and when you slip into using profanity, that's when they've got you. At that point, you're playing their game, not yours. You've lost your composure, you're no longer in control, and you're in for a long f***ing game.

My advice? Just don't do it. We already have enough problems out on the field, and playing down to the coaches'/players' game just adds fuel to the fire.

I used it. No pejorative associations with the word. Used by writers in newspapers all the time.

I know a guy who is still waiting for the national he was promised back in 2006...and his biggest sin was rather quietly using IT as an adjective in a slow pitch game ... blood is boiling, I better go play Monopoly or something!