ACCOUNTABILITY: Is it a pipe dream or a reality?

 

In our world today, the concept of "accountability" is often laughed at, ridiculed, and often completely ignored--and saidly, that ethic has managed to find a way into our tennis officiating world.  

Here are some examples of the lack of accountability in our tennis world:

*  I walked through the site of the Grand Slam of junior tennis in Texas last year and in five minutes I saw 5 blatant examples of cheating, numerous players throwing rackets and swearing, parents screaming insults at other parents and officials, and sadly--officials walking around like nothing was happening. 

*  In a collegiate dual match I was in the chair and looked over at my far sidelineswoman and she was standing on the court eating a sandwich and drinking a coke while the match was being played. 

*  A UIL official that regularly cheats on her mileage reports and the account of her hours worked in a match. 

*  An ITA official finishes their singles match and then it takes 17 minutes to get off the court and to the next highest match still playing.  

*  A UIL official just left an important dual match during the match without even notifying either head coach or the other official working the match.  

*  A UIL official decided to take a bathroom break of 10 minutes when the dual match was tied at 9-9 and it was the third set tiebreaker.   Sad thing was that the winner of the match would earn a berth in the state tournament.  

*  An ITA official was officiating a women's dual match as the only official but when the match got down to the last two matches he went up and sat in the stands because he said, "nothing was happening."

When we live and work in a world in which these examples occur far too often, perhaps it is time for us to stand up and demand accountability.  For example, when I am walking around in a collegiate tournament and I hear officials announcing the score and using the wrong verbiage--it tells me they didn't study and don't know the verbiage.  When I see an official standing or chairing a match and they completely ignore blatant rules violations, its time to call for accountability...

We would be open to hearing your thoughts on this vital issue.   Just click on the comment button below and leave us your opinions...