On the TunneySide of Sports February 17, 2020 #783 Up next… George Washington lives on!
After further review… It seems appropriate that today’s article reflects on that age-old expression relating to our first president, General George Washington, when he uttered his famous “I cannot tell a lie.” I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet is historically referred to little George when confronted by his father as to who cut down that cherry tree. While it may be apocryphal, it is often used as a guide for children to always tell the truth. It also may be appropriate as we celebrate Presidents Day.
No, this has nothing to do with our current US president. You can make up your own mind on that one. It has to do with transparency, which may apply to our current political mess. The sports transparency question is: Are game officials telling you the truth when making an on-field call? Or are they just making them up — AKA C.Y.A.?
2020 Major League Baseball Umpires will use the microphone to explain to the stadium crowd as well as the television audience what the call was and the rule that applies to it. That explanation will be the responsibility of the crew chief. The National Football League has required its on-field referee (also called the crew chief) to do that. The National Basketball Association has yet to follow. Stay tuned.
Transparency has been a keyword in recent political issues as well as in other entities. Why is transparency so in vogue today? The TunneySide feels that we have lost trust in others. In the NFL – before replay was adopted – the players and coaches, as well as fans, trusted on-field officials. While they might not have agreed with the call, they seem to accept that the on-field officials were honest and doing the best they could.
They still are today, yet their integrity is questioned as well as the call they make. In the NFL once the coach throws the challenge (red) flag the referee reviews that play. The coach accepts the replay decision. Hmmm. Trust in the automation, but not the individual?
We have lost something when that gets to be the mode. Trust is paramount in sports as well as in society. We have lost that trust when we allow the video to replace human dignity. Of course, there are plays that may be mistakenly called (human error) where replay can help.
Will you trust the judgment and decisions of others as you would like them to trust you?
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