Should the referee call and apologize if he cost a team a game on a big blown no call or bad call? Or just not making the right call.

 

Is it bad to admit your mistake? After all people make mistakes.

It would be unusual, but I would respect anyone who owns their mistakes and acknowledges them.

 

I bet the referee association would frown on it.

No, every single call could change the game from the 1st quarter on. They are going to make mistakes. I'd be willing to guess they miss at least one call a game. So they would apologize after every single game.

What is considered a blown call? A missed holding call or not called, or what you think is pass interference or not, or whatever else. A lot of times it is judgment on the part of the officials having to do it in real time and its hard to do. And has been said above, it happens on most if not all plays. Now if they miss a rule that is something else.

If anyone has ever seen some of these mic'd up things at college or the pro level there will be times that officials do acknowledge that they made a mistake. With that said, there is a big difference in saying:

 

"Hey Coach! I just wanted to let you know I was in the wrong position on that 2nd and 10 play and couldn't tell if the Defender jumped first or not. All I saw was your guy moving. I may have missed that one."

 

...as compared to:

 

"Hey Coach! I blew that holding call that negated the TD that would have gave you the lead on the 4th and 3 play"

 

 

Coaches work the officials all the time, and sometimes the officials have to be strategic on when to work the coaches as well.

I would say no need to on judgment calls. They are what they are and what the person saw at the time.

 

Rule interpretations that are blown and cost a game is different in my mind. I think probably they (referee or supervisor) should call the AD or HC.

So if a ref misses a call or makes a bad call at end of the game and it cost the team the game, its OK for them to not admit they made a mistake.

So if a ref misses a call or makes a bad call at end of the game and it cost the team the game, its OK for them to not admit they made a mistake.

 

I actually prefer them not to say anything. Maybe as a coach I respect the official who admits to a gaffe the next time he's working my game, but by and large, I don't want to hear anything from an official. I can almost guarantee they didn't cost my team the game.

I guess I'm in the old school camp that no one call costs a team a game. If it's that close, maybe you should have done something earlier so that no single call has that much impact.

I really wouldn't ever want that to happen, especially if it's a judgement call in the heat of the moment. Nobody makes those 100% of the time.

 

 

But, I think if there was a huge error that clearly cost a team, I'd appreciate an official who did apologize. I think a few years ago, WKU's basketball team lost a game when the opposing team had 6 players on the floor and it wasn't noticed. Those kind of blatantly obvious, non-judgment calls are way different. And that's one of the reasons I think that some penalties should be able to be reviewed in football and basketball.

So if a ref misses a call or makes a bad call at end of the game and it cost the team the game, its OK for them to not admit they made a mistake.

 

If an assistant coach calls a bad play and it costs his team the game do you expect the Head Coach to track down the local newspaper to apologize to the fans and kids for the staff losing the game?

 

Some might, but most won't.

 

As with any decision we make in life, especially ones that are open to public scrutiny and effect other people's goals or even livelihood, it is about how a person interprets the situation as the "best way" to manage it.

 

Sometimes it is best to own up to mistakes and take the bullet, sometimes it is best to keep your mouth shut and not incriminate yourself, sometimes people's pride is too much to overcome to even admit they were wrong, sometimes ripping the band aid off fast is the best cure, sometimes when you rip the band aid off and the wound isn't healed you only make things worse....

 

Every situation is different and every personality is different. I have always subscribed to the theory that when I make a mistake or am blatantly wrong I will most often try to own it. Heck I did it on something as simple as the 2A Notebook last week when someone called me out for leaving Walton-Verona off the list and I admitted I did forget them. At the same time, if admitting that would have cost the credibility of the entire site and myself I probably would have kept my mouth shut.

 

I don't think anyone should EXPECT an official to ever have to admit they are wrong, but when one does feel compelled to apologize I think people need to respect that they are owning up to it.

Who's going to decide?

That is a cat that needs to stay in the bag.

The difference, here, is the HC is already held accountable by media, fans, administration, etc. His accountability is public.

 

I understand the idea that it could create sticky situations, and that officials have incredibly difficult jobs. That said, they are also incredibly insulated from accountability - and I don't think the lack of transparency makes them any better.

Should the referee call and apologize if he cost a team a game on a big blown no call or bad call? Or just not making the right call.

 

Is it bad to admit your mistake? After all people make mistakes.

 

As a general answer to this question, no. You ESPECIALLY don't do it a day or week after it happened. The wounds are still open at that point and the coach is likely to just get more upset.

 

You then have the issue of calls that went FOR that team (real or perceived). Did the supposed bad/missed call at the end even out the benefit they got earlier? So many issues with this whole concept.

 

With that said, you CAN go to a coach during a game or later in the season about a call IF you a)have a good relationship with the coach and b)you know it's not going to him/her riled up again. Sometimes you just have to eat it knowing you missed and knowing the coach knows you missed it. But you can go up to a coach during a game and say "Coach, I missed that one earlier. Thought I saw something I didn't. Tell 34 it wasn't a penalty/foul/violation." Done properly and at the right time, it is received well and shows the coach that you don't think you're infallible.

 

Coach's HATE officials that won't admit they made a mistake. It taints many future calls even though the official was correct. Makes communicating with the coach harder as well.

 

Fine line, though. You can't go up to a coach 5 times during a game saying "my bad."