Orange County Prep Review : Coaches Will Pay to Keep Some Refs Away

Buying off an official. Paying off a referee.

No matter how you say it, it sounds shady.

So, it may come as a surprise that the practice of paying an official not to show up for a game is approved of in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section bylaws.

Rule 1214 allows a school--a coach, really--to remove an official in any sport if the school is willing to pay his or her full game fee. In basketball, that would be $30. The school must also pay the usual fee for the two officials working the game.

Though it’s not a common occurence--the Orange County Officials Assn. had no statistics on the subject--officials being bought off sparked controversies in the Orange and Sunset leagues within 10 days.

The rule came about to compensate for personality clashes; some referees and coaches just don’t get along.

“I don’t want to be at a game that a coach doesn’t want me,” said Al Hackney, an Orange County high school official for 25 years. “In the end, that situation would only hurt the kids, and that’s who we’re there for.

“But, you know, it can also be pretty damaging to someone’s ego to be taken off a game. Fortunately, it’s never happened to me. But if it did, I would want to know why.”

Even those who support the rule say there might be some coaches who are abusing it.

“If a coach wants to replace an official because of a personality clash, that’s perfectly fine,” said John Hill, a member of the OCOA Board of Directors. “But when the coaches start trying to take advantage, you know, manipulate the game, that’s wrong. That’s not what the rule was intended for.”

Manipulate could mean a coach with some big or strong players, paying off a referee he thinks calls the game too close inside.

Gene Lloyd, Brea-Olinda High School coach, paid off an official for the Wildcats’ Orange League game against Valencia, Jan. 31, because he “didn’t trust his judgment.”

Brea won the game, 52-49. But a controversial call in the last minute upset Valencia Coach Ray Rodriguez so much that he lashed out after the game.

Rodriguez told the Anaheim Bulletin: “They paid $30 to win this game. I guess that’s a pretty good investment. They bought off one of the refs. It’s legal but it’s not ethical.”

Rodriguez now says he may have overreacted.

“I think I got carried away, that was a pretty heated moment,” he said. “Looking back, I don’t think I would say it again. Actually, I think they officiated a good game. But I have a problem when a referee is replaced. It should be for the reasons the rule intended.”

Whether the rule has a place in the rule book is another question.

“I think it’s totally unethical, I don’t how the CIF lets this go on,” said Ron Craig, Cypress coach. “It allows the schools with big budgets to pay off, while others can’t. I’ve never done it, and I never will.”

There was a time when coaches could not replace referees. John Dickey, OCOA secretary-treasurer, said until 1980, coaches were supplied with a list of officials’ names. The coaches were allowed to mark about 5% of the officials they would not want working their games. The procedure was called red lining.

Now, a coach receives two schedules during the year. The first is a list of nonleague games and the officials assigned. The other has league games and the officials assigned.

A coach can find which referees are going to work each game and take action from there.

He or she--actually their athletic director--must contact the OCOA about the change. The school sends the $30 check to the OCOA, which forwards the money to the referee.

Sound easy? Sometimes it’s not. Just ask Marina Coach Steve Popovich.

Last Friday, Ocean View beat the Vikings, 69-53. Popovich thought he had paid official Ron Lutz not to show up. Lutz did.

“When I saw him walk in the gym Friday, I couldn’t believe it,” Popovich said. “I talked with Lutz after the game and he said he had never received payment.”

Popovich had requested Lutz be taken off Marina’s games Wednesday against Huntington Beach and Friday against Ocean View. When Lutz didn’t show up for the Oiler game, Popovich was sure everything was settled.

“I talked to our athletic director and Darol Roundy (Orange County’s assigner of officials) and they said everything was taken care of,” Popovich said.

The Vikings were called for 26 fouls compared to 11 against the Seahawks.

By the way, officials do have some recourse of their own. They also receive a list of their games and are allowed to accept or refuse a game for whatever reason.

Unfortunately for the officials, they can’t pay the coaches not to show up.

Speaking of money, Mike Anderson, La Quinta junior varsity basketball coach, may do well if he asked to be paid by the hour whenever his team plays Garden Grove.

Wednesday, The Aztecs defeated the Argonauts 56-50 in five, count ‘em, five overtime periods.

The win was a little revenge for Argonauts’ 48-45 win over La Quinta in double -overtime.

You get the feeling these teams like each other’s company.

“It got to the point where I said to the kids, ‘I don’t care how you win just win,” Anderson said.

The hero of the game for La Quinta was sophomore Jim Brannon, who made jump shots with just seconds left in the second and third overtime periods to tie the score.

The game started at 5:45, and finished at 8:10. By then it had attracted a large crowd, who had showed up for the varsity game scheduled at 7:30.

“The crowd really got into it,” said Dennis Murphy, Garden Grove JV Coach. “We usually don’t get those kind of crowds. That was nice. But after the third overtime, Mike and I were talking about just flipping a coin and going home.”

To add insult to injury, Anderson and Murphy--each varsity assistants--had to sit through La Quinta’s, 58-56, overtime win over Garden Grove in the varsity game.

“We usually go out after the games,” Anderson said. “But Wednesday I told everyone I was just going to go home and go to sleep.”

Prep Notes

Jack Elway of Stanford, Jim Sweeney of Fresno State, Dave Ogas of Rancho Santiago and former Los Angeles Ram All-Pro Jack Youngblood will be the guest speakers at the eighth Orange County Athletic Directors’ Assn. football clinic on Saturday, March 1, at Rams Park in Anaheim. The clinic, sponsored by the Coca-Cola bottling company, is free to all county coaches. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the afternoon concludes with a buffet luncheon at 12:30. . . . St. Paul High is hosting an alumni baseball game on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 11:30 a.m. on the Swordsmen’s diamond. Interested players should contact Coach Leo Gutierrez at (213) 698-6246. . . . Mater Dei basketball Coach Gary McKnight announced his team has signed a two-year contract to play Capistrano Valley beginning next season. The teams will meet on Jan. 10 at Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center. The Monarchs will also play Ocean View on Jan. 24 at Orange Coast College’s Peterson Gym.