One of the favorite things to do from a fans point of view is to complain about officiating when there teams lose. However there is increasing complaints about officiating when teams win. For athletes today, unless you are from Marshall, your actions can get you get fined (Pro), suspended and/or kicked off the team. But officials get away with making horrible calls or not making the call when the infraction is clearly apparant. Thus leading to the increasing inconsistency in officiating.
In football teams get penalized and even a non-call can decide a game. Officials don't get penalized.
In hockey players spend 2-5 minutes in the penalty box and games can be decided on bad calls and/or non-calls. Officials get away with bad calls or not making a call.
Basketball, same things apply except teams don't get to shoot free throws when officials screw up.
Even baseball has it's problems (last night a ball was clearly a home run that was called foul).
It is my belief that officials need to become more accountable for their actions, just like the athletes are held accountable for theirs.
The problem here is you are comparing apples and oranges. The activities that get you fined/suspended are off-field. Players don't get fined/suspended for running wrong routes, missing blocks, dropping balls, etc. Human error is a part of the game.
OVERHERD Wrote:The problem here is you are comparing apples and oranges. The activities that get you fined/suspended are off-field. Players don't get fined/suspended for running wrong routes, missing blocks, dropping balls, etc. Human error is a part of the game.
This isn't about players that run wrong routes, drop balls, miss blocks or anything like that. If they do that then it's there fault. But if someone hits a home run and it's called a foul that's not the players fault. If someone puts their hockey stick in a nother players armpit and the player whose armpit has the stick shoved into is called for holding the stick that's not the players fault. If a receiver is mugged 15-20 yards downfield while the ball is in the air heading toward him and the call isn't made it's not his fault.
The NHL now fines players $1,000 for diving which is a "judgement" call by the officials. Players are also suspended for a certain number of games for fighting. Other fines and suspensions are levied for on-ice incidents.
The NFL and NCAA has on-field dress codes. NFL players can be fined for them. Terrell Owens gets fined for pulling a sharpie out of his sock in a game and for standing on the star in a game at Dallas. (just a couple of examples)
In the NBA, players (Dennis Rodman) gets fined for kicking cameramen during games. Players get suspended for fighting. (just a few examples)
The point is, if players are suppose to be held accountable for their actions on and off the field, court and ice, officials should also be held accountable. Maybe if they new they would have to pay for their mistakes, which are increasing at a rapid rate, their wouldn't be so many games decided by the officials. Toledo fans, NIU fans and WMU fans know what I am talking about. The fans of those three teams could have witnessed a trifecta against the Big 10 last September on the same day, but the officials ensured that didn't happen.
In the National Championship, both Ohio State and Miami experienced several bad calls in the game.
That holding the stick penalty led to a Colorado goal scoring a goal that could have been the game winner if it wasn't for Rob Blake getting a charging penalty.
The home run ball that was called foul happened last night.
In the world of sports the area that needs cleaning the most isn't the athletes in my opinion, it's the officiating and I decided I would talk about this now before any team I root for has a game decided by poor officiating.
May I suggest that you have officially drank enough coffee this morning?
OVERHERD Wrote:May I suggest that you have officially drank enough coffee this morning?
You can, but I haven't. This is something I have been thinking about for a couple of years now and finally decided to bring it up.
I'm not sure what you really think should be done. I understand the frustration of officials blowing calls, but making a mistake on a call does not equate with the examples of player behavior that casues suspension/fines.
Dress code for officilas? Got one. They can be suspended and fined for violating that. Kicking a cameraman? Same as players, maybe worse. Behavior of any kind that is unbecoming to the profession is dealt with. But is has nothing to do with missing calls. I think what you want simply are better officials. OK. Getting them is the problem. Except for the NBA and MLB, these are part-time jobs. The NCAA certainly doesn't want to shoulder the cost of making these guys full-time--year round training and clinics, etc., which would give you the right to have higher expectations for their performance. It's not like there are thousands of excellent refs and umpires out there who can't get jobs or who are stuck doing high school jv games because they can't move up. It's a very difficult job that not many people are suited for. Think of how many idiot fans there are that scream and throw crap on every call that goes against their team. Most fans don't know a good call from a bad call unless someone shows it to them in slo-mo and explains it.
I think the real question is how do we keep good officials and train better officials.
Couldn't answer the poll. None of the above.
This survey doesn't really have a good answer.
An official is going to make bad calls. It's when one official displays a pattern of ineptitude that he/she should be reprimanded/dismissed. Otherwise, you can't start levying fines for one bad call, just because that bad call came on a more crucial play.
I could care less how casual a fan is and whether or not an official has a job outside of the sport he officiates in. When I sit down to watch a sporting event, I want to see a clean but thrilling game that isn't decided by the screw ups of officials.
How many of you sat through a MAC basketball game this past winter only to see the official doing all kinds of moves when making calls?
I am tired of fans complaining about officiating and then doesn't want anything done to make officials to be made accountable for their actions. Officials are normally over 40 years old so most of them should have all their social challenges taken care of.
If you don't think anything should be done, that's great, but support your reasons why just don't say it shoulldn't be done. You opinion is your stance the facts is what you use to back up your opinion.
If you are referring to me, I thought I made it clear: if you want to improve officials performance, make them full-time. You won't improve perfomance with fines and suspensions unless you think the officials know they are making bad calls/no calls and are making them intentionally. They need more time on the job, practicing and training.
If you think they are corrupt, then that's a whole other issue. I don't.
My solution also will cost a lot of money that will get passed on to the fan, like all other costs. Fining and suspending refs will just eventually decrease the pool of refs to draw on and bring more and more inexperienced refs into play short term that are no better trained than the ones you got rid of. The answer is to train and develop better refs and you can't do that when they work 1 or 2 days a week, especially in the college ranks. The NFL has the money to do this and they have so far refused to do it. If the owners and commish aren't willing to do what is neccessary to have better refs, then it won't happen.
And when you get down to a conference like the MAC, which is always going for the cheap out, I don't see much chance for substantial change.
Change is going to be driven by whoever is willing to pony up the money to do it, and it can't happen overnight, either. It will be a slow process. But I think it's the only viable one. Every other solution I've heard is just a bandaid.
OVERHERD Wrote:The problem here is you are comparing apples and oranges. The activities that get you fined/suspended are off-field. Players don't get fined/suspended for running wrong routes, missing blocks, dropping balls, etc. Human error is a part of the game.
ibid
I am damn tired of the "official bashing" in this country. We have become a "culture of blame." It's always someone else's fault when things don't go our way.
Get off the officials' collective backs. Sure, a lot of them stink, but I certainly don't believe that they are trying to be bad or "on the take." You're asking people to make snap judgements while running down the field, with all kinds of stuff going on around them. Jeez -- they're bound to make mistakes.
axeme,
I wasn't referring to you, I was referring to the argument that people like to use in referring to officials only being part-time. Fact is, before officials become officials they develop loyalties to certain teams and/or certain schools. Once they become an official, they are not suppose to show any loyaties, but if you look at the Big Ten officials as any MAC fan how they feel the Big Ten officials that are used in the games against a MAC team are in terms of unbiased. Like I said earlier, ask a UT, NIU, WMU and even a Miami fan. Even ask a Cincinnati fan in the game against Ohio State.
Look at Joe Paterno at Penn State and his views on officiating. The Buffalo
Bulls basketball coach really had some things to say about the MAC officiating this past season, but he would only nod or shake his head with a big smile on his face when asked about the officiating.
Dodo Wrote:OVERHERD Wrote:The problem here is you are comparing apples and oranges. The activities that get you fined/suspended are off-field. Players don't get fined/suspended for running wrong routes, missing blocks, dropping balls, etc. Human error is a part of the game.
ibid
I am damn tired of the "official bashing" in this country. We have become a "culture of blame." It's always someone else's fault when things don't go our way.
Get off the officials' collective backs. Sure, a lot of them stink, but I certainly don't believe that they are trying to be bad or "on the take." You're asking people to make snap judgements while running down the field, with all kinds of stuff going on around them. Jeez -- they're bound to make mistakes.
Dodo,
I am not on the officials backs. I am just saying they need to be held more accountable for the job they do on the field, on the ice and on the court. Period.
Oh, when I say ask a Miami fan, I am talking about in their game against Iowa.
The answer is simple.....a lynch mob. :D
Maybe we can create a new tort for "officiating malpractice" and use the potential loss of revenue as a measure of damages. Hell, we could even bring class action suits as fans for intentional infliction of emotional distress. You could probably get someone from ATLA to take the case. :rolleyes:
I think the answer is already in place, if the officials are consitently bad the conferences can simply not hire them.