As an official you are often called upon to make decisions that are not popular--but now it seems that players and parents seem to be more out of control than ever...
In a team playoffs tournament last weekend in Dallas we saw a "player out of control" at its greatest example. Seems that the player and his team showed up an hour late for their match and were defaulted. The captain demanded to speak to the referee so the site official called her and handed the phone to the player/captain. After he didn't get his way with the referee who upheld the default and finally got off the phone after their lengthy conversation, when the official asked for his phone back the player/captain said, "You can go get your f___king phone" and threw it over the building--completely destroying the phone.
The police were called to the site and said the official could press criminal mischief charges against the player while at the same time the player was offering the official $450 for his phone if he wouldn't press charges. Ultimately, the official did neither and chose to filed a complaint against the player.
When confronted by the police the player actually accused the official of attacking him and said that the phone "squirted out of his hand." The officer's reply was, "You are seriously going with that story?" Obviously they knew the truth about what happened.
This player needs to be suspended for a lengthy time and the DTA and the Texas Section Grievance Committee both need to take immediate and quick action. This guy is out of control and there is predicting what he will do in the future. He sure doesn't need to be playing any more USTA events in the foreseeable future.
Seems that the player/captain also had an attorney on his team (don't they all), who threatened action against the official if a complaint is filed. You can be sure many of us will be encouraging swift and punitive action against this player.
Personally, I would have taken the $450 for a new phone and then filed a complaint against the player. As it is, the official is out of a phone and waiting on something to happen...
8 comments:
I would have pressed charges. While in some ways we may empathize with a player that just lost his match, for all we know, this person has done this before, and may be a cumulative threat to society. Getting him away from the public may be the only way to address his issues. This is beyond merely suspending him from tennis play.
In retrospect, I would have filed charges too. The trouble is that the police probably wouldn't do a thing and you would still be out the money for a new phone.
He needs to be removed--NOW.
I would not take money from this jerk. Plus $450 is probably not enough to replace a new smartphone. File a police report and a complaint with USTA/DTA.
Sue him in small claims court to pay for your new phone. Plus would enjoy having this guy explain to the judge why he's such a prick.
USTA needs to ban this guy...
Tell the official to give me a call. I have connections to the Dallas Mafia. We'll be more than happy to teach this dude a valuable lesson.
I just hope the Texas Section takes quick action. It would be a travesty for this guy to be playing tournaments for weeks and months before they ever make a decision.
The MTOA can force the issue. We don't have to work matches that this individual is involved in. All we need is a name. Pull up the draw. If he's on the draw, call the Ref and remove youself. Be sure to tell them why you are withdrawing. It won't take long for the tournaments to get the picture. We are not going to work with a nut case that may pull something worse than throwing a phone the next time.
I agree totally with the last comment. You can be sure many of us will be watching carefully as the Grievance Committee makes their decision.
To whom may we contact at the DTA and USTA to assure this player receives appropriate punishment. I would wholeheartedly support a job action against any tournament or event which allows this play for at least 12 months!
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