It is very simple: When you are at a high school sporting event, treat those around you with respect.
That extends to officials and coaches as well.
I was covering a game on Tuesday and during a timeout, one of the officials was standing near the baseline where I was taking photos.
Throughout both games, I had taken notice of how obnoxious the home crowd was being toward the officials even as they were on their way to a 19-point victory, so in order to start a conversation with the official I remarked how the crowd was especially displeased with the officiating on this night.
He turned to me and rolled his eyes, before welcoming me to the town.
After that I began listening closer to the fans and I found that most of what they were yelling at the officials didn’t even make sense.
An example of this is probably the most commonly complained about call in basketball — the over-the-back foul.
“Over-the-back” is not even a foul in basketball — a player can jump and reach over the top of an opposing player all they want. It is only a foul if the player makes contact with the other player. If contact is made, the correct call is “displacement.” Yet this made-up call is screamed for in gymnasiums across the country.
The bottom line is no matter how much you think you know from the stands, the officials and coaches almost certainly know more and it helps no one for a town to gain a poor reputation with officials.
We all are tempted to complain sometimes, but let the coaches do it. Don’t let your community be known as a bad place for officials to work.
New Year’s Resolution: Cheer positively
