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umpire_scott
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I didn't put it in the "off-topic" category because it is still about officiating, although basketball not baseball.  I know some of you also do basketball.  I did something last night that I'm not proud of at all.  Never did it before.

 

It was a Men's Rec League.  Situation was a 50/50 ball under the hoop and I call possession for Team A.   A guy for Team B who is just an arrogant douchebag sarcastically says "you gave it to them because I said it was ours didn't you".  Implying, I guess, that I had something against him.  Mind you I've probably seen this guy twice in my life.  And he was not involved in the play but was about 20 feet away from it.  I ignore him.  After I give the ball to team A to inbound he trots down the court saying "horrible call, terrible call".  I was taken back that he would put that much energy into an 50/50 OOB ball like that.  I should have T'd him up, but for whatever reason his reaction caught me off guard.  But he was so smug and arrogant about it that I really wanted him to get the message.  

 

So the next opportunity I had I called a pretty ticky-tack traveling violation against him.  I knew he would react in a way that would allow me to T him up.  I actually consciously planned this in my mind. He was posting up and I was under the hoop.  He sort of shuffled his feet as he began to back down on his defender.  I call traveling.  He looks at me but says nothing.  I'm the trail ref and as we are coming back up the court he says "as bad as that other call was this one was even worse".  "Whistle Technical Foul #15". 

 

I totally baited him into the technical because I should have gotten him the first time.  Anyone that does basketball ever done that?  I actually was surprised at myself as I've never allowed a player's personality to get to me like that before.

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Good for you

epic fail

Scott, you already know about professionalism, integrity, blah blah blah. No words from anyone here will berate you as badly as youve probably already done to yourself. You know.

Thanks for sharing a human element. :cheers:

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Tonight I did something totally out of character for me. I made use of the FYC. 35+ wood bat league, VT F8 batting, DIII HC on the hill. Two pitches at the knees for strikes, no doubt about it. On the first,  the batter huffed and threw his head up to the sky, and on the second looked back at me shaking his head. Pitch three was a bit low, and off the plate on the outside. Guess what I did ? That's right, I rang him up. Most of the players in this league know me to be a good, consistent umpire, and a guy who knows he isn't perfect. But this jackass looking at two strikes and acting as if I had robbed him just pissed me off, so I decided to end his at-bat. Had the teams manager been there, I feel sure he would have given the guy an earful. Am I proud of it ? No, not really. Am I ashamed of what I did, again, no, not really.

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If you're going to work summer men's wreck ball, you're gonna run into a LOT of just these kind of situations. You MUST develop a presence and project it early or they'll pounce on you. I've noticed - at least in how you describe it - that you tend to overthink and overanalyze these situations. Pull that T trigger early, maybe if appropriate give it back a little, but DO NOT let these weekend warrior wannabes push you around.

 

For example, in the first sitch with the 50/50 ball, perhaps you could say "yea, that plus he had the ball" or some other pithy but non-baiting remark. They're not kids, you can talk a bit more. But if you're not comfortable with it or it's distracting, a quick "knock it off" or dismissive look might work. And don't be afraid to give a little bit late T after you processed what he said. Unlike baseball, you've got this ntermediate penalty - use it! Better to be a tad late than let him roll you.

 

Now to the call. If it was legitimate traveling, screw him. If it was borderline, well...I don't condone, but - I understand it. As long as you didn't just make it up from whole cloth, so what. From the description, I wouldn't call that baiting. You didn't mouth off or say something out of line, you just anticipated the clown act. He still performed it.

 

The larger point, though, regardless of sport, is why are you continually letting others' personalities affect you this much? In this regard, working mens' wreck ball may be helpful in developing game mgt skills and self-confidence - you'll run into asshats like this on a daily basis.

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"A guy for Team B who is just an arrogant douchebag...."

 

And there's the reason I don't work Men's Wreck League. FWIW I agree with @scrounge, get the first T even if it's late. Get that one and you're not beating yourself up about the one you got him on later.

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1) The first comment is not T worthy.  Neither is the second (unless it's for ABS) -- both referred to a call and not to you personally.

2) I didn't infer from the first call at all what you seemed to infer

3) there's a whole range of responses between "ignore" and "T" -- maybe one of them would have worked on either the first or the second comment

4) Don't work mens wreck ball.

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1) The first comment is not T worthy.  Neither is the second (unless it's for ABS) -- both referred to a call and not to you personally.

2) I didn't infer from the first call at all what you seemed to infer

3) there's a whole range of responses between "ignore" and "T" -- maybe one of them would have worked on either the first or the second comment

4) Don't work mens wreck ball.

 

1) I agree the first comment was not T worthy.  The second one I think is dependent on circumstance.  The arrogant and mocking tone he did it with was clearly "showing me up".

2) It may be HTBT.  But what else would be be implying when he states that I only made the call against his team because he said his team should get the ball?  I guess he could have been implying that I routinely make the opposite calls that a player makes when I hear them?

3) I agree with this.  My mistake was ignoring it and letting it stick with me

4) Hopefully my job situation will change to the point that I don't have to take what I can get.  Wreck ball will be the first to go I assure you.

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2) It may be HTBT. But what else would he be implying when he states that I only made the call against his team because he said his team should get the ball? I guess he could have been implying that I routinely make the opposite calls that a player makes when I hear them?

 

If this is how you perceived it, then either way he's questioning your integrity/accusing you of cheating in my opinion. Whack.

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I did 3 games a couple of months ago for a mens basketball rec league. They were my first games ever for adult and my last games ever for adult. It was horrible all three games were won by 30 points or more, There was 6 T's called, 2 fights on the court and enough trash talk to fill arrowhead stadium. I would rather umpire t ball than do that again.

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