The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-12-21
BASKETBALL Referee
IS MUCH MAL|GNED
Giving Officials More Power
to Discipline Players Would
Strengthen Game.

One of the very hardest jobs in the
world is that of being basketball ref
cree. To watch ten MEN, all experienced
in the gentle arts of tripping, showing,
elbowing, blocking, and to detect just
when and where they overstep the
bounds prescribed by the basketball
rules-to do this every time n so hard
that it is impossible.
And yet, all through every hard
fought, bittcrly-contested game the
spectators of both sides will forget this
and will unite in heaping insults and
abuse on the referee, the one man pres
ent in the hall who is supposed to be
non partisan. A good referee is a jewel
Of great price, In fact, he is even bet
ter than that, for you haven't money
enough to buy a really good refereo,
To every spectator with the elements
of fair-miudedness this continual bait
ing of tho official arbitrator is seri-
Gus drawback to enjoyment OF the
game it should be assumed by spec
tators that the referee is honest, to
start with. They ought to have enough
faith in the club owners and officials
Of the league to assume that much. Ii
they hadn't they should stay away from
the games. They should also have
enough respect for the experienced judg.
ment Of the people in control as to as
sumo that they will procure the most
competent men possible.
AS long as basketball is played, and
| is popular, and as long as baseball is
played and is popular, the fans will
| bark at the officials. It has come to
bs regarded as a part OF human nature.
! And human nature doesn t stand much
altering. 1t pays money to be amused,
and jP IL wants to make one man the
scapeeont for the mistakes Of five men
! in which it has particular interest
| there is no reason why it should not do
go, if il pays the money and can find a
willing scapegoat.
But there is absolutely no excuse for
the PLAYERS to attack q referee They
honor in return for playing the game.
1 When thew start to turn on fellow
employees Of the league and accuse him
of dishonesty or incompetency, some
thing swift should happen TO them
Organized baseball derives Its
strength from Its strong ceptralizstion,
IT backs up its umpires. a baseball
umpire represents the superior power OF
the league he works for, He orders
niavers out Of the game, and they go.
He fines them, and they pay, or some.
| hody pays for them, and warns them il
tbey offend again worse thing shall
hafall And as q result baseball UNI
pire usually dominates the field; man
tH;Le KLEIN or Evans Is master Of affairs
\ ail the time. And the players know It:
They go ahead and play oau snd II
from their own shoulders to that Of the
nmnire tb& do IL off the ball field, and
get laughed at for doing SO.
Before the baseball leagues backed up
their nnpires theA were all sorts of
ca,trao oes. Umpires were attacked from
smbush, nauled with pop bottles, spiked
the feet yaa wals r. tssy tSown WERE sasp d%pns Ba
r.ieysTs had little respect for them, be-
eanse p they were without backing.
The only possible way to make a bas-
kstball game a thing or pleasure TO the
fair-ninded spectator is to empower the
referee to discipline players. This will
help q lot, for most spectators take their
tips from the players.