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CLEAR Temp: 46 °F Wind: WNW at 6 mph Tuesday, April 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend March 29, 2003 It was wrong to blame South’s loss at state on refs By VERN LOY I am responding to the article printed March 14, regarding the South Medford boys basketball loss in the state tournament to Hillsboro. I feel the remarks made both by the reporter and the head coach were unacceptable. I find them so for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the article focused so much on how the officials were the reason for South’s loss, rather than giving credit for the turnaround play of the players to make it a very competitive contest. I was not at the game, but I did listen to the excellent, non-biased play-by-play commentary of Bill Jacobs, so I had a pretty good picture of the action. I was as disappointed as anyone in the outcome. Then I watched the postgame interview on TV and read the article the next day. I could not believe what I was hearing and reading! Both the reporter and coach indicated indirectly that the South team was "cheated" out of a possible victory because an official took the game away from the kids. The opinion centered around a foul called by one of the referees with just a few seconds remaining in regulation. That call gave Hillsboro’s James Loe two free throws, which ultimately led to a Spartan victory. "That should have been a no-call, and we go to overtime," was the coach’s statement. If the official had ruled that the foul should be ignored so South could make it to overtime, now that would be cheating! A person must wonder if the coach’s opinion would be the same had the action been at the opposite end of the court. My point is that the coach was paying more attention to the officials rather than giving those South Medford kids the credit that they so much deserved. Even with the disappointment of having Andy Hagert out with food poisoning, the team going through a lackluster first half and many turnovers, the players battled back and gave themselves a chance. The bottom line is that the quality of that team and its efforts should have been the focus of that article, rather than being overshadowed by the opinion that the coach had been homered at the state tournament. The next day, the same reporter appropriately put things in perspective. He said, "Sometimes you’re the windshield, and sometimes you’re the bug." All too often anymore, the blame is leveled at the officials. No, officials are not perfect, and there are levels of abilities, as in any profession. Just keep in mind that the perfect game will be called when one of two things happens: when all in attendance agree with every call, or when the perfect game is played. We all know when either of those will happen, don’t we? Officials know that the minute they step on the court, they are held accountable by everyone present. But keep in mind that of the four components of a basketball game — the players, the coaches, the fans and the officials — the latter is the only group that does not have a bias toward one team. Officials also are the only ones who cannot insult, curse, yell at or throw things at any of the other three. Recently, I visited with a longtime coach in Southern Oregon who used to blame officials for losses. He changed, and I asked him why. He explained it this way: After a game, in which he had repeatedly criticized and berated the referees for a loss, he sat down and looked at the scorebook and stats. While doing so, he also looked back at the entire game. "I was hit with a huge dose of humility and reality," he said. "All game long, and even for a while after, I was accusing the referees for our loss. Then I realized that the officials did not make the turnovers, they did not miss the free throws, they didn’t make the mental mistakes that the kids made nor the ones that I made." It is so very important for all of us to not forget that the game is for the kids, and adults, including the referees, form the "support" group. The March 14 article reflects all too well society’s willingness to blame someone else for their failures. Now, I ask you, in that article, who took the game away from the kids? To anyone involved in youth athletics, I offer a quote that provided me guidance through my athletic career: "When you lose, don’t lose the lesson." Vern Loy is the commissioner of the Rogue Valley Basketball Officials Association. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S