The Refs Got It Right At Valley
January 15, 2020 at 4:47 a.m.
The Refs Got It Right At Valley
By Roger Grossman-
I watched it about 50 times — at regular speed and in slow motion.
If you don’t know what happened, let me fill you in.
Time is running out in a tie game between the Vikings and Pilgrims. Plymouth had the ball in search of a last second victory for the second straight night but turned it over. Valley spreads the floor and wants to make sure they hold the ball for the final shot of regulation.
With time expiring, Valley got the ball to Paul Leasure, who rose up to shoot a long 3-pointer. A Plymouth defender ran at him, jumped as high as he could, and raised his hand to try to block the shot.
That’s all fact and no one can dispute any of it.
What happened next depends on what color of shirt you were wearing.
The shot is released a split second before the defender gets there and the ball is not touched by the defender. However, the video then shows me that the defender’s hand hit the shooter’s hand. That contact did not allow the shooter to fully follow through, and that caused the shot to fall well short of the basket.
The referee closest to the shooter had a good angle, but not a perfect one. As the ball moved to his side of the court, he was in the best position he could be and with the players-in-question in front him and no one or nothing to block his view, he put air in his whistle and called a foul.
The reaction was just as you would expect—Valley fans roared their approval, and Plymouth fans screamed in disbelief.
Leasure made two free throws, and Plymouth’s last-chance-shot failed, which secured the Valley upset.
The game ended, but the debate was just starting.
I was brought into a conversation on social media about it, which is how I started watching the game’s critical play via video in the first place.
The refrain was a common one in situations like these. “The ref can’t make that call in that situation.” “Refs shouldn’t decide the outcomes of games.” “It (the contact on the shooter’s hand) didn’t affect the outcome of the play, so the ref should never have blown his whistle.”
I do not know who the official was that made the call, but I would like to congratulate him for it.
My praise has nothing to do with who won or lost the game. It has more to do with an official who was in the best position he could be, he watched the play, he did not anticipate what was going to happen, and he had the courage to blow his whistle and call a foul.
There are officials who admittedly will not call a foul in the last few seconds of a basketball game or throw a flag on the last play of a football game because “I want the players to decide the outcome of the game, not me.”
The flaw with that philosophy is that by committing to not calling anything in that end-of-game scenario, the official is, in-fact, making a call that affects the outcome of the game. He, or she, is an official in a sporting event—every call they make from the first play to the last has an equal impact on the game. For example: a foul called against a player in the first quarter may not seem like a big deal, but if that player gets a fourth foul with five minutes to go in a tie game, that first foul matters.
It’s a part of officiating, and everyone who signs up to do it is told that from the start.
In the National Federation of High Schools Officials Handbook (1.2.15), it says “A courageous official will be quick to call violations and/or fouls when they occur. Do this consistently without regard to the score, position on the floor, whom it may hurt or how it may affect future relations with the school or coach. Regardless of pressure from fans, coaches or players, the official must go “straight down the middle” and have the courage to call them as they occur. Your honesty must be above reproach or you would not be an official in the first place. It takes real courage to resist pressure and intimidation. To a large extent, the personal reputation of an official will be built on this.”
It is the official’s responsibility to make the call. To call what happens—what really happens. No guessing allowed. No making up your mind before it happens. Knowing what occurred and applying the rules that govern that action must be the only course of action.
In this case, it was, and I applaud the official for it.
Sure, you can say “easy for you to say this…it didn’t happen against the Tigers.” That’s fair, but incorrect. The only thing that can ever matter is to get the call right, and this official did.
I watched it about 50 times — at regular speed and in slow motion.
If you don’t know what happened, let me fill you in.
Time is running out in a tie game between the Vikings and Pilgrims. Plymouth had the ball in search of a last second victory for the second straight night but turned it over. Valley spreads the floor and wants to make sure they hold the ball for the final shot of regulation.
With time expiring, Valley got the ball to Paul Leasure, who rose up to shoot a long 3-pointer. A Plymouth defender ran at him, jumped as high as he could, and raised his hand to try to block the shot.
That’s all fact and no one can dispute any of it.
What happened next depends on what color of shirt you were wearing.
The shot is released a split second before the defender gets there and the ball is not touched by the defender. However, the video then shows me that the defender’s hand hit the shooter’s hand. That contact did not allow the shooter to fully follow through, and that caused the shot to fall well short of the basket.
The referee closest to the shooter had a good angle, but not a perfect one. As the ball moved to his side of the court, he was in the best position he could be and with the players-in-question in front him and no one or nothing to block his view, he put air in his whistle and called a foul.
The reaction was just as you would expect—Valley fans roared their approval, and Plymouth fans screamed in disbelief.
Leasure made two free throws, and Plymouth’s last-chance-shot failed, which secured the Valley upset.
The game ended, but the debate was just starting.
I was brought into a conversation on social media about it, which is how I started watching the game’s critical play via video in the first place.
The refrain was a common one in situations like these. “The ref can’t make that call in that situation.” “Refs shouldn’t decide the outcomes of games.” “It (the contact on the shooter’s hand) didn’t affect the outcome of the play, so the ref should never have blown his whistle.”
I do not know who the official was that made the call, but I would like to congratulate him for it.
My praise has nothing to do with who won or lost the game. It has more to do with an official who was in the best position he could be, he watched the play, he did not anticipate what was going to happen, and he had the courage to blow his whistle and call a foul.
There are officials who admittedly will not call a foul in the last few seconds of a basketball game or throw a flag on the last play of a football game because “I want the players to decide the outcome of the game, not me.”
The flaw with that philosophy is that by committing to not calling anything in that end-of-game scenario, the official is, in-fact, making a call that affects the outcome of the game. He, or she, is an official in a sporting event—every call they make from the first play to the last has an equal impact on the game. For example: a foul called against a player in the first quarter may not seem like a big deal, but if that player gets a fourth foul with five minutes to go in a tie game, that first foul matters.
It’s a part of officiating, and everyone who signs up to do it is told that from the start.
In the National Federation of High Schools Officials Handbook (1.2.15), it says “A courageous official will be quick to call violations and/or fouls when they occur. Do this consistently without regard to the score, position on the floor, whom it may hurt or how it may affect future relations with the school or coach. Regardless of pressure from fans, coaches or players, the official must go “straight down the middle” and have the courage to call them as they occur. Your honesty must be above reproach or you would not be an official in the first place. It takes real courage to resist pressure and intimidation. To a large extent, the personal reputation of an official will be built on this.”
It is the official’s responsibility to make the call. To call what happens—what really happens. No guessing allowed. No making up your mind before it happens. Knowing what occurred and applying the rules that govern that action must be the only course of action.
In this case, it was, and I applaud the official for it.
Sure, you can say “easy for you to say this…it didn’t happen against the Tigers.” That’s fair, but incorrect. The only thing that can ever matter is to get the call right, and this official did.
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