Fist bumping officials: Good or bad?
March 20, 2008 @ 6:55 p.m. by Joannaby joanna
This was a comment by MCLwriter (keep the ideas coming!):
Why do so many teams find it necessary to bump fists with the officials during pre-game basketball introductions? It disgusts me to no end, and I want to puke every time I see it. I have written about it AD NAUSEAM for more than two years, but my pleas seem to fall on deaf ears, except for most schools in the Mid-Continent League. If NCAA teams don’t do it, why do high school teams in Kansas find it necessary? It go so bad in another state, the director of officials now keeps the crew off the court during introductions to make sure that doesn’t happen.Â
I’m not sure why this is an issue. Do you see it as a sign of disrespect? I guess I just don’t see anything wrong with it. I’ve always accepted it as similar to the hand shake that a few officials offer. And I’m pretty sure officials don’t have a problem with it, considering they are the ones who lead with the fist.
The way I look at it is, this is what kids today are doing (and have done for a number of years now). It’s not a nasty gesture or disrespect, it’s just the way they greet each other. I think it’s either an attempt by the officials — many of them on the old side, OK, older side — showing they’re cool, they’re down with it. Or it’s what they do, too, in their own personal lives. I personally don’t use the fist bump, I use the two-arm hug and then the squeeze when I see anyone I know. HA! just kidding.
Anyone else have thoughts on this?
 By the way, I plan on having a tournament bracket, coming out soon, in which teams will advance based on your votes. More info to come!
Keep the ideas coming in! (Man, that is way too many exclamation points. I think I’ve used up my quota.)
March 21st, 2008 at 8:38 am
I hate the notion of “greeting” the players. It is pointless and disingenuous. The big reason for the “FIST” or “DAP”, for me, is to keep the germs at a minimum at a bad time of year for catching the croup. Not saying any of the kids are dirty, just the extra, needless 20 shakes per night (10 girls, 10 boys) for 4-5 nights a week that I work……. Don’t need it, baby! Some officials DAP to be cool…
I wish they would just introduce one team, then the other. I get sick of the kids coming through the line-up, then breaking an ankle trying to figure out if they should go to center circle, the other head coach, the officials, or the crowd first….. They often wind up looking like newborn colts. Give me one team, then the other. I really get irritated when a kid either forgets, or intentionally doesn’t go to center to great the other team’s player, so just eliminate it!
And most importantly: Why the hell does it irritate that guy so bad? Who cares?
Kansas absolutely wants officials on the court when players are present, they will never change to keeping them off the court during intros, and being any other place at the table is silly, and potentially dangerous.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 11:39 am
I think the reason that the kids/officials do the bump vs. the handshake is simple… it’s quicker. With a bump, the kids just buzz the line of officals (if, like Greg said, they can decide where they’re going). If all three of us had to hand shake each of the 10 kids out there then we’re just adding time to the already unneccisarily long pre-game rituals that cause every game to start late in the first place. But unlike Greg I have no problem with it and think it’s an appropriate show of respect between players and officials. The kids aren’t by any means ‘required’ to go out there. They choose too.
Greg, as soon as I saw the topic I knew I could count on seeing a response in here from you!
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
First, thank you, Joanna, for taking time to reply. I really appreciate it.
Okay, I will weigh in again. I believe shaking hands with officials is reserved for the CAPTAINS and head coaches. That is a privilege to be selected as a captain by your coach, and only the captain(s) has the right to communicate with officials during the game. The fist bump was never about germs or cleanlieness. It’s about doing the right thing, and I believe it is absolutely wrong to shake hands with the officials unless you are the head coach or captain.
Greg, to answer your question as to why it irritates me, it’s because I like to see things done the right way. Have you ever seen a Kansas player fist bump an official prior to an NCAA game? Absolutely not. The NCAA would jump Bill Self’s butt so fast he would be running back toward Champaign. I agree with you that teams should be introduced in their entirety, except for the state tournaments.
For background, the state I’m referring to is Louisiana, where I wrote for the paper in Baton Rouge for many years before coming to Kansas. In Louisiana, most gyms do not have a public address announcer doing introductions, and when they do, they introduce the entire visiting team, then the entire home team. At the state tournament, there was one year where the announcer introduced the entire squad, and the reserves were getting off the bench to do the “fist bump” with the officials, who were stationed in front of press row (opposite the table). When that happened, the LHSAA’s director of officiating had enough and started holding the officials off the court until introductions were complete.
Thanks for the feedback everyone…have a great Easter!
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
In case you’re curious, I’m based out of Russell. I also write for papers in Ellis, Osborne, Phillipsburg, Plainville, and Smith Center. My weekly column on the Mid-Continent League explained the title MCLwriter.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
This has to be one of the funniest and most pointless blogs I have ever read. Whoever gets annoyed over people bumping fists with refs should either, a. not go to a basketball game because if bumping fists disgusts you to no end then I can only imagine what your like during a game when a call doesn’t go your way. or b. show up halfway into the first quarter so you don’t have to watch something so irritating. or c. Shut your eyes.
At my school our coach told us not to go to the officials before the game so we didn’t. No big deal. Every other team we played bumped fists with the refs and sometimes our coach. But we didn’t care, our fans didn’t care, and our coaches didn’t care what the other team was doing. Not seeing why this is such a big deal.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 5:32 pm
so good sportsmanship only applies to the captains and coaches? and since when was everything that the NCAA does right for high school? by that logic then i guess that the high school game should have a shot clock as well.
do you for despising the fist bump so much? i have nothing against your opinion, i just don’t understand your hate for what i think is a display of good sportsmanship.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 21st, 2008 at 5:32 pm
again with the spam filter… i think it’s a little over zealous…
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 pm
What is funny is that teams and refs do all this fist bumping but then the players still act like turds. I see teams that bump fist and then are the worst sports on the court. I don’t think it is important to shake the hands of the opposing coach or refs. It doesn’t mean you are going to be a good sport. Our head coach makes the players hand the ball to the officials.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
I think it’s odd that the players now feel the need to fist bump the officials if only because the officials would not make one move before the game (and rightly so) to go shake hands with the players.
Plus, old guys getting fist bumps looks silly. :)
I must be old school, because I could definitely do without all the theatrics associated with the starters being announced. Before you know it, players will be bringing out props and each one will have his own entrance music.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]
March 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
RikRok: what do you mean “before you know it”? We’re dang near there now!
David: I am not speaking for other officials regarding the DAP and germs, I’m speaking entirely for myself. Ironically, I was one of the first officials to do the DAP several years back, as I didn’t like the notion of slapping hands, hand shakes, etc. It was back when I had a cold, and thought “I don’t need to spread or be spread on” any more…. that said, I do know other officials that agree with me on the germination.
To your point of “doing things the right way”, well there is no set protocol for HS. The NCAA actually put a rule in to keep this from happening in pregame a few years back. That’s why you don’t see anyone from KU doing it, nor any other D1 or other college team. I don’t see anything WRONG with it, I just don’t see anything RIGHT with it. There are too many theatrics. I’m telling you now, the day will come when one of these rummys jumps up to give the ‘twist in the air/chest and belly bump’ and comes down wrong, next thing you know, we’ll have a sub for that starter….. Mark my words! In short, there is no “right way” for this pregame. Just your preference. I understand where you are trying to come from, you sound as if you have been around athletics at a higher level. We talk about doing things “right” regarding the sports I work all the time, coaches arguing “the right way”, players doing things a certain way, etc. I just don’t see it applying here. Colleges used to do it, until legislated NOT to. I’m sure as with most things, the HS players took it and ran with it.
As for people having the “right” or “priveledge” to communicate with officials, and leaving that only to the captains……… WAY OFF. Too often, the captain is the one being a turd. I NEVER limit myselt to who I can or will communicate and build a rapport with. Sometimes I will praise and pimp a non-captain, in an effort to get as many on my side as possible. Not to get them to like me, but to have them more willing to listen and stay reasonable and in control if the game gets nutty. If I have a good trust and rapport, then things go smoother. I would never limit it to the captains. They are my first line, but not my only line.
Good points by LoganIs.
ZebraStripes, not sure who you are, but you must know my “big mouth”…. ha. You are right on the money with this one.
Troy: not sure why your coach wouldn’t allow it, but I’m okay with that. And you might be right, this might be a worthless blog, but 99.9% of all of them are anyway! At least this one has some spirit.
[REPORT A VIOLATION]