Friday, November 16, 2007
The Whoops Rule
I play by the rules almost all of the time. I guess laws are a system of rules developed from societal norms and mores that we contract to observe under penalty of having stuff taken away from us like money or freedoms or worse athletic victories and the right to stay with our team. That’s cool, I’m down with it to a point but if all rules were fair and just we wouldn’t need lawyers and courts and that scary American Civil Liberties Union.
The last two weeks I’ve written newspaper stories about high schools forfeiting games for use of an ineligible player. That is high school sports version of the death penalty. And why punish a single player when you can persecute an entire team?
I propose a ‘Whoops Rule” like our government uses when we make a mistake and drop a bomb on the Chinese embassy or flame out a passenger train of commuters with a smart bomb and save the cockpit video like we did back when NATO thought bombing Bosnia or was that Serbia perhaps Herzegovina was a good idea.
Amazingly I coached high school track for 10 years from 1975 to 1985, my teams hard core, many athletes on probation and great adventures in the classroom. The teams were 60 strong and I never mistakenly or intentionally used an ineligible athlete because I couldn’t run or jump in the meets but I could triple check a list and requirements fearing my oversight may result in our disqualification and giving back trophies we had already won.
“Sorry girls but we read Sally’s transcript this way when we should have read it that way and so the game she played in where she was an inconsequential participant must now be forfeited because that’s the rule and the team you beat which may or may not include girls who lather each morning with Marion Jones body wash will now be taking your place in the state finals where ironically they have as good a chance to win as the other team even though their coach was thrown out of your game for unsportsmanlike behavior no need to punish everyone for his bad behavior.
Have a nice off season.”
Sometimes “The Rule” gets in the way of ‘The Right”decision.
Freddogg Off The Chain which is against the rules
Comments:
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Freddog,
Your "Whoops Rule" idea sounds great to everybody but the victim - in your case the team that likely lost as a result of the winner using an ineligible player. Have you ever noticed that the older we get the more "merciful" we become?
The "Whoops Rule" works at either end of the mistakes "spectrum", but not in between. For example, bombs dropped that kill innocents, or forgetting to put sugar in the birthday cake. The bomb incident punishes those involved without incarceration as they have to live with the knowledge of taking innocent human life, and the sugar/cake incident is one of those "not likely to happen again" situations because nobody wants to disappoint party-goers.
However, the entire rest of life needs hard-fast rules in order to maintain order. Without them chaos reigns, or in the case of unethical or unprofessional people unfair results ruin whatever game they are playing.
Finally, have you considered that person(s) you think might deserve the "Whoops Rule" are better to learn a painful lesson on the field or court instead of in prison or on the battlefield?
Your friend,
Del (short for DelDOT) Bridgebuilder
Your "Whoops Rule" idea sounds great to everybody but the victim - in your case the team that likely lost as a result of the winner using an ineligible player. Have you ever noticed that the older we get the more "merciful" we become?
The "Whoops Rule" works at either end of the mistakes "spectrum", but not in between. For example, bombs dropped that kill innocents, or forgetting to put sugar in the birthday cake. The bomb incident punishes those involved without incarceration as they have to live with the knowledge of taking innocent human life, and the sugar/cake incident is one of those "not likely to happen again" situations because nobody wants to disappoint party-goers.
However, the entire rest of life needs hard-fast rules in order to maintain order. Without them chaos reigns, or in the case of unethical or unprofessional people unfair results ruin whatever game they are playing.
Finally, have you considered that person(s) you think might deserve the "Whoops Rule" are better to learn a painful lesson on the field or court instead of in prison or on the battlefield?
Your friend,
Del (short for DelDOT) Bridgebuilder
# posted by 
: 6:52 AM
: 6:52 AM
I don't agree with the better to learn a painful lesson philosophy and never did but lots of people do I just hope they have experienced lots of them.
There are no hard and fast rules just ask black people in the courtroom
But your response is crafted with intelligent design unlike the Inlet bridge
I haven't changed getting older I've never like the hard and fast rule just the hard and fast life
There are no hard and fast rules just ask black people in the courtroom
But your response is crafted with intelligent design unlike the Inlet bridge
I haven't changed getting older I've never like the hard and fast rule just the hard and fast life
Wasn't there a rule that in order to attend regular semester classes one had to go through a most laborius process the preceding semester called preregistration at all the state universities in PA & West Chester in
particular? Did I miss seeing you in the line...
Hard & fast rules should reflect hard & fast trangressions...otherwise the rules should be tempered with some basic sense that should be common...why would anyone penalize a scholastic team for a minor FIRST time error made by someone not participating in the contest.. Because they can I guess
particular? Did I miss seeing you in the line...
Hard & fast rules should reflect hard & fast trangressions...otherwise the rules should be tempered with some basic sense that should be common...why would anyone penalize a scholastic team for a minor FIRST time error made by someone not participating in the contest.. Because they can I guess
# posted by : 12:58 PM
: 12:58 PM
How did you remember I never showed up for long lines figuring I could talk my way around the rule o.k. most rules
When are the adults in these situations (ie: Sussex Tech, Shemik Thompson) going to do their jobs and stop making these kids who work so hard and dedicate so much of themselves give back everything they've won. The kids are the ones punished for an idiotic oversight by adults who should know better!
# posted by : 10:03 AM
: 10:03 AM
I agree. Once I was refaree/starter at a tarck meet and during the last race the mile relay with the underdog team leading by 30 meters on the last leg the coach of the favored tea. who had spent most of the meet in the bus staying out of the wind came up to me yelling,'that coach is running along side aiding and abetting the runner and i demand you disquailfy thier team.'
I told him no that's not the way I saw it and he told me I did not have the authority to set aside a rule.
I told him to try coaching next time and he could protest to a higher authority which he did but it was denied.
Clerical mistakes which are adult responsibility should not be paid for by athletes
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I told him no that's not the way I saw it and he told me I did not have the authority to set aside a rule.
I told him to try coaching next time and he could protest to a higher authority which he did but it was denied.
Clerical mistakes which are adult responsibility should not be paid for by athletes
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