Another Swearing Question

[johnnyg08]

This is umpire judgment which is why we have a 3 page (soon to be longer) thread on swear words. Seriously.

[Thunderheads]

This is umpire judgment which is why we have a 3 page (soon to be longer) thread on swear words. Seriously.

THANK YOU !!!! :shakehead:

[Rich Ives]

You can't mumble a middle finger. .

Sure you can. Easily. Just a quick small not even fully extended gesture with just the hand as opposed to a giant arm and finger extended flip-off,

So now we have established that everyone can cruise around mumbling f-bombs and using "little" middle finger salutes, throughout this game of SCHOLASTIC level baseball.

Come one Rich we're not talking College guys or Adults here, these are kids. I'm not saying you need to drop the sky hook on them and make a big production, but you'd better believe it needs to be addressed quickly or else your going to have a bunch of 14-18 year olds running around talking smack at each other, and creating problems that don't need to exist. That's without even getting into your Assn. getting the call from the AD about why your letting it happen with nothing more than a "don't do that".

Becky Sue said something to Joe and he got POed at her and replied. So now you toss Joe. Now he's REALLY POed at Becky for, in his mind, getting him tossed. Chances several of Joe's teammates will be POed at Becky too while her teammates are laughing at Joe for getting tossed. And you'l now have a baseball coach and softball coach trying to break up the fight while postponing their own discussion about who did what to whom.

So if you don't give a flying fig about having to deal with it go ahead and toss Joe. Enjoy your post-game beverage.

[Mike Prince]

Rich I don't follow where you are going with this. The kid responded to something from the crowd with an obscenity (to me not a huge deal given my understanding of the OP) and a gesture (the deal breaker to me) while he is in one of the 2 most "eyes on" areas of the field. Who cares if it was his Mom that he flipped the bird to, the circumstances do not justify the act, especially at this level where the rules emphasize sportsmanship more so than other rule sets.

Someone needs to take care of this and from the OP the team coaches/manager certainly didn't (which is hindsight) and you can't count on that anyway. We can (and are) arguing over how to handle the situation, but the BeckySue/Joe scenario you are painting is likely still there without an EJ, perhaps in different form but I have a hard time seeing it go away. An EJ sends a clear message that this inappropriate behavior and lack of respect will not be tolerated. With an EJ, a coach with any sense now knows you won't put up with this nonsense and if he is smart he will tell his players to ignore Becky Sue. If Becky Sue continues her crap that is an issue for the AD's to address.

This has nothing to do with getting off of the field or having a post-game beverage. It is about enforcing the rules in a responsible manner, not appeasing a bunch of kids who are too immature to have any social etiquette.

[moblue]

Even though there's no agreement by everyone here, I've still learned a lot about what I should have done. I will stand by the fact that not ejecting the kid was the appropriate thing to do. Where I will admit I made the mistake is by not showing that I will not tolerate it on my field. So for future reference, in the off-chance it happens again, I know to at least deal out some warnings to show I won't tolerate it. Thanks everyone for your input.

[bam]

Sweet Jesus!! We have guys out there with very delicate sensibilites regarding language. If you don't like the language on the field may I suggest the local womens book group?

[mstaylor]

A

Sweet Jesus!! We have guys out there with very delicate sensibilites regarding language. If you don't like the language on the field may I suggest the local womens book group?

Are you saying to allow HS kids to cuss on the field? I had a situation today where the F8 said something to F7 that involved language. Since it was away from everybody I just shut it down. If it had been in the infield or at the plate, I would have done more. Believe me I don't have sensitive ears, what we are pressing is inappropriate actions by HS kids. FED is very interested in having umpires be proactive in the areas of sportsmanship and decorum. They stress that these guys are student athletes and want the rules enforced accordingly.

[NFUA_44]

You can't mumble a middle finger. .

Sure you can. Easily. Just a quick small not even fully extended gesture with just the hand as opposed to a giant arm and finger extended flip-off,

So now we have established that everyone can cruise around mumbling f-bombs and using "little" middle finger salutes, throughout this game of SCHOLASTIC level baseball.

Come one Rich we're not talking College guys or Adults here, these are kids. I'm not saying you need to drop the sky hook on them and make a big production, but you'd better believe it needs to be addressed quickly or else your going to have a bunch of 14-18 year olds running around talking smack at each other, and creating problems that don't need to exist. That's without even getting into your Assn. getting the call from the AD about why your letting it happen with nothing more than a "don't do that".

Becky Sue said something to Joe and he got POed at her and replied. So now you toss Joe. Now he's REALLY POed at Becky for, in his mind, getting him tossed. Chances several of Joe's teammates will be POed at Becky too while her teammates are laughing at Joe for getting tossed. And you'l now have a baseball coach and softball coach trying to break up the fight while postponing their own discussion about who did what to whom.

So if you don't give a flying fig about having to deal with it go ahead and toss Joe. Enjoy your post-game beverage.

Honestly Rich we don't need to agree here, I believe the purpose of the exercise is to discuss, so people can see other view points. I have gotten myself into a jam with this type of behavior happening and it wasn't a good experience. I believe the author, who has the best information, has even seen some insights about what he might look at next time. Purpose of the 3 pages on "swearing" made I guess.

That said, I highlighted the above because it's just a completely baseless statement from someone who should know better. I've watched you post on many sites over the years, and normally view your posts as a veteran coach for what they are, experienced and founded in the rules. You don't know the first thing about me, yet you assume that my desire is to get off the field and have a drink, your making an assumption that I drink, or that I'm even in some big hurry to get off the field. Do me a favor before you resort to petty crap of this nature, and take the time to understand what I'm trying to share. Thanks for your time.

[Typhoon]

This brings to mind an incident that happened in a HS game a few years ago. It was the last inning and the team at bat had just scored a run to take the lead. There was 1 out and a runner on 3rd base. The pitcher caught him leaning the wrong way and picked him off and a rundown ensued. The pitcher ran him down and tagged him with more than excessive force in the middle of the back. I made the out call and was about to EJ the pitcher when from the opposing dugoutwe heard "Throw the n----r out". Did I mention that the pitcher was African-American. To say the least I was stunned as was my partner. I thought Oh Oh now we're for it, as all the pitchers brothers were in the stands. Before anyone had a chance to do anything the 3rd base coach (who is also a senior umpire in our association) turned to the dugout and pointed to the player and said "you get on the bus and after the game is over you are going to explain to that gentleman why you used that term" It completely defused the situation. In a conferance with my partner we decided not to eject the pitcher, just give him a stern warning. But it just goes to show that some coaches do take their jobs seriously.

[Replacematt]

This brings to mind an incident that happened in a HS game a few years ago. It was the last inning and the team at bat had just scored a run to take the lead. There was 1 out and a runner on 3rd base. The pitcher caught him leaning the wrong way and picked him off and a rundown ensued. The pitcher ran him down and tagged him with more than excessive force in the middle of the back. I made the out call and was about to EJ the pitcher when from the opposing dugoutwe heard "Throw the n----r out". Did I mention that the pitcher was African-American. To say the least I was stunned as was my partner. I thought Oh Oh now we're for it, as all the pitchers brothers were in the stands. Before anyone had a chance to do anything the 3rd base coach (who is also a senior umpire in our association) turned to the dugout and pointed to the player and said "you get on the bus and after the game is over you are going to explain to that gentleman why you used that term" It completely defused the situation. In a conferance with my partner we decided not to eject the pitcher, just give him a stern warning. But it just goes to show that some coaches do take their jobs seriously.

Double post

[Replacematt]

This brings to mind an incident that happened in a HS game a few years ago. It was the last inning and the team at bat had just scored a run to take the lead. There was 1 out and a runner on 3rd base. The pitcher caught him leaning the wrong way and picked him off and a rundown ensued. The pitcher ran him down and tagged him with more than excessive force in the middle of the back. I made the out call and was about to EJ the pitcher when from the opposing dugoutwe heard "Throw the n----r out". Did I mention that the pitcher was African-American. To say the least I was stunned as was my partner. I thought Oh Oh now we're for it, as all the pitchers brothers were in the stands. Before anyone had a chance to do anything the 3rd base coach (who is also a senior umpire in our association) turned to the dugout and pointed to the player and said "you get on the bus and after the game is over you are going to explain to that gentleman why you used that term" It completely defused the situation. In a conferance with my partner we decided not to eject the pitcher, just give him a stern warning. But it just goes to show that some coaches do take their jobs seriously.

You still need to toss the one who said that. Since the coaching staff had already addressed the issue, it doesn't have to be dramatic--"Bob, thanks for helping us out. He is done for the day."

[yawetag]

You still need to toss the one who said that. Since the coaching staff had already addressed the issue, it doesn't have to be dramatic--"Bob, thanks for helping us out. He is done for the day."

I agree completely. This type of action, especially in a high school game, has to be handled, even if it's done one-on-one with the coach that already talked to his player.

[Welpe]

We have guys out there with very delicate sensibilites regarding language. If you don't like the language on the field may I suggest the local womens book group?

You confuse what conduct I chose to permit on a HS field with that which personally offends me. Those are very different standards.

[HokieUmp]

Sweet Jesus!! We have guys out there with very delicate sensibilites regarding language. If you don't like the language on the field may I suggest the local womens book group?

If you don't like having standards for minor children, may I suggest you umpire the local penitentiary league? Since we're offering suggestions, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and all that.

Look, I swear like a sailor myself, and I'm not shy about it sometimes. But - and this is even with the "shaving age" thing we all throw out there all that time - these are MINORS. Perhaps for the ACLU and the UN, they have rights. But they don't. Not really, anyway. They have basic rights for survival, not to be used in salt mines, pornography, working in sweatshops or factory floors, and the right to be FED/clothed, and be kids. (Sweet gig, really.)

Not allowing them to swear on the field, or flip the finger to teammates/friends/enemies/random people? That doesn't violate any of the above rights. They don't like it? Eff 'em. (Buh-dum-crash!) Seriously, if it's for the world to see/hear, it needs to be addressed, as in EJ.