The official, by letter of the law was correct in his call and wrong in the enforcement...

 

BUT...

The official failed in his DUTY...twice...

 

(1) His job is to officiate the GAME first and handle the game environment as a secondary part of his duties, only becoming his primary duty if the actual safety of himself, the players, or the general attendance is in danger. He allowed an inconsequential game environment aspect change the outcome of what happened on the field. He based his judgment of the execution of his duties on the wrong object of emphasis of his job.

 

....and I don't blame him. I HATE the silly sideline overkill that the NFHS has instituted. I've been around football and high school sidelines for over 20 years and have seen ONE actual collision of significant impact between an official and a coach. Why in the heck has the NFHS elected to turn such attention away from the field and onto the sideline? It's just plain silly and leads me to say that this penalty is a failing of the NFHS as well as this offical.

 

and (2), it is the duty of the officials to know their rules. If you're a guy who's touchy about sideline space, then you have an obligation to know the exact in's and out's of that aspect of your job. This is similar to a cop who hates people who speed but who doesn't know what the fines for speeding are.

The reason for point of emphasis comes from a law suit filed in Texas by an assistant coach who was injured when an official ran into him on the sideline. The coach claimed in his law suit if the official has enforced the sideline penalty earlier in the game he would not have been where he was when he got injured.

The official, by letter of the law was correct in his call and wrong in the enforcement...

 

BUT...

The official failed in his DUTY...twice...

 

(1) His job is to officiate the GAME first and handle the game environment as a secondary part of his duties, only becoming his primary duty if the actual safety of himself, the players, or the general attendance is in danger. He allowed an inconsequential game environment aspect change the outcome of what happened on the field. He based his judgment of the execution of his duties on the wrong object of emphasis of his job.

 

....and I don't blame him. I HATE the silly sideline overkill that the NFHS has instituted. I've been around football and high school sidelines for over 20 years and have seen ONE actual collision of significant impact between an official and a coach. Why in the heck has the NFHS elected to turn such attention away from the field and onto the sideline? It's just plain silly and leads me to say that this penalty is a failing of the NFHS as well as this offical.

 

and (2), it is the duty of the officials to know their rules. If you're a guy who's touchy about sideline space, then you have an obligation to know the exact in's and out's of that aspect of your job. This is similar to a cop who hates people who speed but who doesn't know what the fines for speeding are.

 

The white hat ultimately is responsible for the handling of the penalty, correct? Even if the SJ didn't know how it is enforced the white hat should.

For those that say the game should be resumed how far back into a game should we go to say "play it over from here" when there's an egregious error by an official?

Unless it was caught right after the play, no way to go back for a redo. Just stinks for the team that got hosed.

 

Could be a great "Life" moment for those players if coach handles it correctly.

Where's Marvin with the challenge flag when you need him?

Not just this case, but often I think it is pitiful how many times penalties are called on "infractions" such as these that have absolutely no bearing on the play.

If it is a safety issue, then I understand, but how many times have you seen a "phantom hold" called 25 yards behind the play rescinding a TD.

Like someone else said, no one comes to a game to see an official, call the game fairly, but use your head.