Monday, October 13, 2014

Ball In The Mouth--How Would You Rule?


Balls in the mouth are quite a feat for a dog...


But probably not acceptable for a tennis player.


At the ITA tournament at Oklahoma University this past weekend the following scenario occurred:

In a men's ITA doubles match, one of the players on Team A  put the entire tennis ball in his mouth following the loss of a point.  He then went up to the net and spit the ball out of his mouth into his opponent's court.

One of the players on Team B then said that he would not touch the ball and wanted the player on Team A to be coded.

How would you rule?  Does the rule about spitting apply here?

HINT:  This player is notorious for putting the ball in his mouth and then spitting it out.  Last year an official ruled by telling the player that this was not acceptable and if he did it again he would be coded.  Seemed to help because there's no record of him doing it again until this past weekend.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

He was just trying to make the Arkansas official feel like he was at home with Big Mike.

Anonymous said...

Code Violation, Unsportsmanlike conduct, Call the Ref recommend default: Body Fluids besides being disgusting.

Preparation H said...

Rumour has it Big Mike makes his officials sign an anti-disclosure agreement for working ARK matches, so his bad decisions aren't revealed outside of Fayetteville. Kinda like "What Happens In Vegas Stays in Vegas"

Joe said...

Does anybody know why Big Mike has disappeared from the National scene? I didn't see him at the All American satellite site this year handing out balls to the back draw players.

RM said...

I do enjoy getting reports from all over the country. Be sure to send your's in...

Anonymous said...

How about this for a "What If?" scenario....the player on the receiving end of the tainted ball asks his opponent, "Spend a lot of time with balls in your mouth, do you?" Should you as an official take any action?

Anonymous said...

Code Violation, BALL ABUSE!!! Use a glove to remove the ball and make sure the player has not traveled through Africa on the way to the tournament. Saliva, although not as bad as blood, can transmit diseases.
LA

RM said...

Apparently this guy does it a lot. This is the second instance in an ITA event that we know about. Guess there should be a specific code if you are caught with balls in your mouth. Or worse, that you spit a ball on your opponent's court.

Mama said...

Big Mike has been put out to pasture. Since he can't get along with the Arkansas men's head coach, he only coordinates officials assignments for UA matches. The only other school that will offer him assignments is the elite program down in Wako.

Anonymous said...

Randy....ref your 16:00 post....even worse if the ball being spit out belongs to the opponent.

Eyeore said...

I've heard that Baylor is already signing up officials for the 2016 season.

Waco is definitely Wako.

What's the over/under on how many matches the Baylor coach will be suspended for during the 2015 season?

RM said...

Welcome back Eyeore! We have missed you...

Eyeore said...

After today, what are the chances the Baylor coach gets suspended even before the season begins?