[Sean_330]

I was not there at the competetion in question. BUT i have refereed 4 off season events (2 SCRRF, 1 WRRF, and 1 IRI) and had to make some pretty tough calls (I was head ref at both SCRRF). I am not gonna say how i would have called it because I was not there and do not know all the facts and therefore can not reach an informed decision. HOWEVER, there are several important things to remember here:


1 The Referees are human beings too: That is a fact of life. This is coming from a referee. I admit that I am human and I make mistakes. We ALL can and do make mistakes. The disappointing thing to all referees is when people then go behind our back and whine about our calls on places like CD where the complaint is out for the public to see regardless of whether our call was right. Often times the facts are not presented in an unbiased manner. It undermines the authority and respect that the referees should have. Referees are volunteer meaning they are unpaid. They try their hardest and try to be fair in all their dealings.

2 The referees have a tough job: It is tough to make a call that no matter how you decide, one side is probably going to be angry at you. Calling a couple of entanglement DQs at SCRRF was harder than almost anything I have done in my life. I am sure the referees tried to make a fair, informed, unbiased call. However, no matter how fair that call is, one of the two teams is not going to be happy with the call and there will probably be backlash. Even though they know all this, the referees still willingly volunteer their time to help make a difference.

3 While a single photograph may be enough evidence to prove enganglement in the court of public opinion, there is often more to a story than meets eye. While the picture appears to show entanglement, the referees had to consider the purpose of the other team. No matter what it looks like, there is always the possibility that the team tried to become entangled. that question along with many others is always in the referees minds when they make a call.

4 Without referees, FIRST would not be what it is. If there were no referees, FIRST would become like *gasp* Battle Bots. While the referees may not call much, they still protect the teams from an undesirable, un professional, violent aspect of the game.


So in the end, the issue seems to be not whether entanglement occurred. Instead the issue becomes whether there was enough respect shown to the referees and whether debating a call after the fact in a public forum is indeed what Woody and Dean mean by gracious professionalism?