An Offer Too Good To Refuse

After a plane ride home in the bad weather and an hour long wait for my luggage, its good to be back home from the USTA Texas Sectionals Tournament in glorious Beaumont, Texas.  Our Dallas team had a great run and finished second to the Houston team.  Good luck to the Houston guys when they get to nationals.

After every tournament you can look back and enjoy some of the SPECIAL MOMENTS that you have experienced.  I had a couple that I thought might bring a little humor into our reader's lives...

In our semi-final match with the Beaumont team, we were up 6-1, and 4-1.  The Beaumont team obviously didn't like each other and you could tell there was much internal stress in their doubles relationship.  When the Beaumont player prepared to serve, he asked me the score and I said, "We're up 6-1, and 4-1."  He smiled and said, "Would you settle for 5-0?'  After this OFFER THAT WAS TOO GOOD TO REFUSE, I said "For sure!"  As he prepared to serve he called out the score:  love-five and then proceeded to hit four serves into the fence.  Game, set, and match...

After the match was over, he said, "I couldn't wait to get away from this stupid doubles partner of mine."  Perhaps there is a divorce on the horizon...

The second event was after we had defeated our opponents from Austin in the semi-finals.  We had defeated them 6-1, 6-0 and as I offered my hand to shake hands with one of the Austin players, he just slapped it away and walked off.  I asked his partner what was wrong with him, he said, "He's just mad that you are a referee and are playing in the tournament."  Not sure how he found out I was a referee but I guess some people think we're supposed to know all the rules of tennis but never play the game ourselves...

So much for an eventful weekend in Beaumont, Texas...

Disgraceful Attack On Referee And Even Worse Defense Of Their Actions

Video of the physical assault on the football official.

Assistant coach, Mack Breed, who directed the players to assault the referee.

UPDATE (9-24-15)  The Dallas Morning News published an update this morning.  Notice that the coach said he "should have handled the referee himself."  Hopefully his suspension will be long.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/high-schools/headlines/20150923-assistant-at-texas-school-admitted-he-told-players-to-blindside-official-who-allegedly-made-racial-slurs.ece

Here's a follow-up story that came out on 9-23-15.  Obviously the coach was at fault along with the players.  The referee should file criminal charges against them all.

http://usatodayhss.com/2015/john-jay-assistant-coach-ordered-hit-on-targeted-texas-referee-in-anger

By now most of America has read about and seen the video of two San Antonio high school players physically assaulting a referee during their Friday night football game.  The players were suspended from the football team and placed in an alternative school "pending investigation."

Assault charges should have been filed...

Here is their defense from an article in today's (9-19-15) Dallas Morning News:

Headline:  PLAYERS PUT BLAME ON ASSISTANT COACH

Article:

"A San Antonio football coach directed two players to strike a referee during a game because of missed calls that had hurt the team, players said Friday during a national broadcast.

During an appearance on ABC's Good Morning, America, Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas also repeated earlier claims that the ref had used racial slurs.

Moreno said he regrets hitting Robert Watts and wants to apologize.  Rojas said he was just doing what he was told.

They were suspended from the Jay High School football team in the aftermath of the game early this month at Marble Falls.  The Northside School District moved them to an alternative school as investigations into the incident continue.

Video from the September 4th game shows Rojas blindsiding Watts and Moreno diving on top of him.  Watts was the umpire on the defensive side watching a play along the line of scrimmage.

The players didn't name the coach Friday.  The school district has suspended assistant coach Mack Breed pending an investigation.  Attempts to reach Breed for comment were unsuccessful.

Rojas alleged at one point Watts told a Hispanic player to, "speak English, this is America."  The soft-spoken Rojas couldn't explain why he targeted Watts, only saying he was following instructions.

Moreno contends that the ref used a racial slur directed at a black player.  The teenager also said that at the last moment he realized the gravity of what he was about to do and softened his blow on Watts.

"That's not who I am" he said.  "Underneath the helmet and pads, I'm really a great kid."

Watts has denied using inappropriate language.

His attorney, New Jersey lawyer, Alan Goldberg told The Associated Press on Friday that the game video shows a crime was committed against Watts and now the perpetrators are blaming the victim for their actions.

Goldberg also said that civil action is being considered."

IF THESE ARE "GREAT KIDS" THEN WE DON'T NEED THEM IN THE TENNIS WORLD...

Since this is an obvious physical assault, do you wonder why criminal charges have not been filed and nothing has been done by the UIL?

Tennis Players Have Politicians Beat When It Comes To Hair

Much has been said politically about Carly Fiorina's hair.  She was greatly offended and deeply wounded by Trump's comments--yet, she was quick to criticize Barbara Boxer's awful hair.

Carly with the "liberated look."

Carly's comment about Barbara Boxer's hair was, "My God, have you seen that hair?"

Bjorn had a great look a long time ago.

Everybody thought Andre's hair was so cool--until we found out that it was fake...

Most women really don't care what Feliciano Lopez' hair looks like...

This hair hasn't moved in years.

We're glad James Blake shaved his head.

Not many women can even grow this much hair in one lifetime!

At least she's saving money by not having her hair done at all.

Just saving the best for last...  Pure class!

Have We Run Out Of Qualified American Officials At The US Open?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

2015 Men's Champion--US Open

What an awesome tournament the US Open was this year!  From the drama of Serena's quest for a Grand Slam to the domination of the men's tour by Novak Djokovic, we saw it all.

That was until the men's final last night when we saw Eva Asderaki-Moore from GRE in the chair. The resounding question would have to be:  Have we run out of qualified American officials to chair our own men's national championship match?  Notwithstanding that she was a female doing the men's final (and actually did a good job according to the ever present John McEnroe), you can be sure something like this never would have happened at Wimbledon.  No foreign official (male or female) should ever chair the finals at the US Open.  Its our tournament so let's keep it that way...

It seemed like the only story coming out of the Open was Serena and more Serena--that was until she gave us perhaps the greatest choke in the history of women's tennis.  She won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year--but then, so did Novak Djokovic!  And he did it with major competition in every one of the slams and defeated top 5 players with regularity.  Serena couldn't even win against a bunch who never win and certainly aren't in the top 5 of anything.

Its time to give Novak his due.  He is a great champion!

Root Of The Problem--Where Does It Lie?

We've all seen collegiate football coaches screaming at officials--what kind of seed does this sow among fellow coaches, players, and fans?

A parent screaming at a defenseless child is probably the worst example of "out of control" behavior.

The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil (and that might even hold true in the problems with out of control coaches, players, and fans) but we might need to delve a little deeper to find out what is causing this huge problem...

In no way would I excuse the behavior of the out of control players on the football fields, soccer fields, and tennis courts, but I think we need to also realize that children will mimic the behavior they see when they are growing up.  A good strong example of integrity and honesty will usually yield the same in our children and likewise a bad example will produce bad fruit.

Kids today are taught by coaches that are out of control and sadly, sometimes by parents that are equally out of control.  If the problem is going to be solved it is going to take some very strong corrective action and that action needs to begin with the coaches and parents.  Sadly, we have all experienced the wrath of an offended coach or parent but sometimes we neglect our duties as officials in the face of this onslaught.  Officials who are verbally attacked usually go into a shell and do nothing or get overly officious and start coding everything in sight.  We have to learn to develop a calm attitude and deal with the issues at hand.

There is an age old truth about collegiate tennis teams and it is this:  A team will take on the personality of the coach.  Therein lies the problem in a lot of our collegiate matches today.  When a coach is totally out of control and screaming and ranting and raving at everyone in sight, what do you think their player is going to do?  Act just like his coach...

Here are some suggestions for what ails us:

*  As officials we have every right to be respected by players and coaches.  If they verbally attack us personally then we need to get the courage to immediately issue a coach's warning.  This warning will usually put an immediate end to those attacks.  If not, then give them a point penalty and remove them from the facility.

*  Coaches need to develop the integrity to treat officials fairly and with respect.  There are only a very few who attack officials on a regular basis and everyone in the tennis world knows who they are.  Its time for fellow coaches and conference offices to begin to demand integrity and good behavior from their coaches.  If they don't behave--then suspend them.  It is always a joy to go to a university where you know the coach has integrity and will behave like an adult so why not make that the norm and not the exception?

*  League offices are going to have to be supportive of their referees.  How many times have you seen a referee who did the right thing get hung out to dry by those above him because they are afraid of the coach, parents, or athletic director.  Umpires always know if their referee, coordinator, or league office has their back...

We have a very serious problem on our hands and its going to take some courageous steps to fix it.  Its time for those steps to be taken.

Fans & Players Out Of Control--Its Time To Do Something!

Millions of Facebook readers watched with horror at the actions of two young football players as they physically assaulted a referee during their Friday night football game--and now, people are finally realizing that something needs to be done about fan and players' behavior in all sports--not just football.

It was just a couple of years ago that an irate player took a tennis official's cell phone and threw it over a two story building and we regularly hear of confrontations between parents, players, and officials in the tennis world.

Crazy fans and parents abound and the vast majority are there to have a good time and enjoy the sport they are watching--but there are a few that ruin everything for everyone.

Tennis officials frequently discuss the issue and wonder what to do...  The UIL in Texas is still debating about what to do with the two players who assaulted the referee, their coach, and their team so the decision is not an easy one to make.  Just because its a difficult decision doesn't mean we don't do anything at all!  The UIL has huge powers to penalize offenders but sadly, politics often take precedence.  We had an incident a couple of years ago in which we had a high school match in which parents were verbally abusing officials and police officers had to be called to remove the offending parents.   A player on one team verbally abused the opposing coach with obscenities and at the district meeting the offending coach said, "Nothing happened.   The referee made it all up"--and they believed it!  This is in spite of an assistant athletic director testifying that she was at the match and everything happened exactly as it had been reported...

So, what do we do?  Here are some suggestions for tennis officials:

*  Always maintain a calm demeanor when dealing with irate parents, players, and coaches.
*  Meet with coaches before matches and spell out how offensive actions will be handled.
*  Immediately report any incidents of unruly or disruptive behavior.
*  Check out the facility and know where the exits are.
*  Do not be afraid to call the police if a situation gets out of hand.
*  Be fair and unbiased in your decisions.
*  Do not let a parent, player, or coach abuse you in any way.  This is simply not permitted.

Check out the links below.  The first is a link to the video of the football game in which the referee was assaulted and the second is an article in today's Ft. Worth Star Telegram.

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/09/07/watch-two-high-school-football-players-target-hit-referee/

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article34600308.html