Tuesday February 21, 2012

Time For Change

Time for Change
I would have been shocked by what we saw Saturday in Raleigh, NC if it happened 20 years ago but not in today's college basketball world.

In case you did not see it, long-time college basketball referee Karl Hess ordered two fans sitting on the front row to be removed from the arena during the N.C. State-Florida State game Saturday. This is even bigger news in Raleigh because the two fans were two former North Carolina State greats, Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliatta

I have no idea what the pair of former Wolfpack players said, so it is not entirely appropriate for me to criticize Hess or the security at the RBC Center on Saturday.

Both former players admitted afterwards that they were riding Hess pretty hard, but both said they did not use profanity or threaten him in any way. In fact, both players had family with them which included two of their daughters which were between the ages of 11 and 14. I have no idea how each raise their kids, but would hope they would not use profanity in front of their daughters especially in a public place. Also, a Florida State official confirmed no profanity or threatening words were used.

Hess also did not go to N.C. State personnel to assist him. Instead he did not follow protocol and used RBC Center security instead.

As a result the ACC has publicly reprimanded Hess with this weak statement from the head of the ACC John Swofford:

"Karl Hess is one of the best on-court officials in college basketball, but the ACC has established a game management protocol, which allows the opportunity to potentially diffuse any situations before they reach the level of ejection. His reprimand is a result of a failure to follow that protocol."

I have seen disturbing trends among basketball officials in recent years. Therefore, I think there needs to be a new direction with officiating in the game starting next season.

I think the following changes are needed:

1. Nameless. I think the officials ought to be assigned to the games but should be there only as officials and not as part of the game in name. They should not put their names on the television screen. Their names should not be on the box score. Radio announcers and television announcers should not refer to them by name. Officials do so many games and are on television so often they become known in arenas. They are not celebrity status but the point is that we should not even know their names. It will take some time for the old guys to cycle out but in a few years we should not have a clue as to who these guys are.

2. Cut the conversation. In my opinion an official should be there to officiate the game and not be a part of it. We should not know them. We should not know their personalities. They should not communicate with fans, players or coaches as much as they do. They are there to do a job and should be emotionless during that contest. That is not happening today. A Clemson games I have noticed basketball officials having conversations with fans. Most of these conversations are light hearted but should never happen. During timeouts several officials have conversations with media on press row or professional scouts. This may seem trivial but this adds to the human aspect. Officials don't need to be humans for these two hours. They are there to officiate, not socialize. During dead ball situations I see officials joking with players. I have seen them smile, laugh and pat them on the butt. In my opinion this should not take place. During the game itself I have seen officials having conversations with coaches. This should not happen. It is distracting and should not take place. In summary, I think officials should limit any conversations to those required by the job. It makes them look unprofessional and adds the human element to them.

3. Desensitizing. Officials should never feel threatening and should be allowed a safe environment to do their jobs. However, we have gone overboard with protecting them. At Clemson anytime there is a replay in basketball we have our security guy head to half court right by their sides. It looks silly and it creates unwarranted attention. Over protection leads to more sensitivity in my opinion. The officials have become increasing sensitive to any kind of criticism. An official should not be concerned with criticism and should not even hear it. However this is a growing concern. They hear the criticism and too often react to it. An official should recognize that criticism is part of the job. It comes with the territory. Every job has negatives and criticism is one of the negatives of their jobs. Sometimes you just have to sit back and take it.

These suggestions could have a positive effect on the game and clean up scenes like what we saw Saturday in Raleigh. You can never control criticism from coaches, players and fans, but you can control how officials react to it. It is much easier to control the response of three men than trying to control the emotions of hundreds or thousands in the stands.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:

If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.

If you would like to add someone to the list please email me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com

*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list.

Those who need our prayers include:Finn Brookover, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Daniel Rosborough, The Huffman family, Nancy Winkler, John Reeve, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs,Perrin Seigler, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, the Nicolopulos family, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle family, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee, Kelly Trakas, Jimmy Moore, the Thomas. V Family, Emary Claire Young, Kitty Bowers,Julie Locke, the Scheider family, Lauren Kittles' family, Frank Gentry, Joyce Bussey, Stacey McKeown, Mary Priester, Dale Childs, Larry Lentz, Jr, Carl Sharperson, Scott Hannon, William Perry, Tyler Swaney, Randy Anderson, Lillian, Matt Hogan, Mark Feit, David Frame, Chad Berry, the family of Matthew M. Watson, Nancy Taylor, the Dowis family, Shervin Messer, Alan Putnam, the Olivers, Lee Tate, Ronnie Abrams, Eddie Greene, the Jackson family, Bill Vader, Nancy Taylor, Tina DeWitt, Rock Horne, Christopher Tuten, Jimmy Head, Bobby Wayne Thomas, Emma and Danielle Carothers, Robert Ditty, Murray Smith, Dot Cartee, Ayden Mills, Millie Heatley, Lynn Martin and family, Michael Pinson, Jack Bailey, Jake David family, Janice Thompson, Angie Crowley, Rachel Graves, Ira, Elsie Taylor, Mike Tolson, Poly Wells, Dr. Muriel Bishop, Jack Cunningham, Emily Jefford Meister, Zachary Stoller, Aaron Clackum, Pat James, Cortney Moore, William Moore, Angelia and Savannah Anderson, William Ross.