[logank013]

Originally Posted by BoilerMentor

Have you considered volunteering to be a referee once you've grown up a little bit?

You know all these folks are volunteers? They do the best they can, for free. All of our referees in Indiana take it seriously and work hard to make the right calls.

Were you there to see it? A team misrepresented the cause and extent of the damage to their robot. Now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that rarely can a driveteam actually recall what happened in a match, so they may have genuinely believed what they said. Per the teams explanation, the evidence on the field, and the recount from another referee they had to make a decision, and a tough one at that. Don't even begin to think that anyone takes issuance of a red card lightly.

Sorry sir if I made you mad. Actually, I do plan to be a FIRST referee if I don't mentor a team. I'm a professional soccer referee. I've been doing it since 14 and this is my 6th season doing it. I understand how hard refereeing is. Especially when it's a game that is super complicated and changes from season to season. As a soccer referee, there are times that I have to make a decision on things that I didn't even see! I only work in a crew of 3 people max and sometimes I'm by myself! We (or I) have to watch 22 people on the field. This year, there are 6 referees and 6 robots. The rules is what complicates things a ton. Most soccer calls are opinion based. FIRST rules are very yes or no. So please don't think I'm a snobby teen who doesn't understand how it works. Obviously, I had the luxury of video replay and a rule book right next to me when watching the 447 issue. But when it's as serious as a red card, it is better to not guess and only make decisions off of what you actually saw. I'm not sure what the referee actually saw. I heard a definitely biase opinion from the alliance that was issued the card.

With that said, don't be mad at me and please accept my public apology. I don't think I crossed the line in anyway before, but I'll apologize for my actions since I felt targeted to do so.

Sincerely,
Logan