RABBIT EARS

     "If I hear anything else out of you, you will be escorted out of this gymnasium !"  Well, that is not a word for word of what colorful basketball referee Lou Bello said  back in 1958 to Charlie Holcombe, one of our college's cheerleaders.  But whatever the words, the message was clear.  Lou having heard Charlie's deriding several calls stopped the game and delivered his ultimatum in front of a hushed crowd.

    Several years later, a referee at a North Carolina State University game tossed two former players (who had also played in the NBA)
for apparently unexplained reasons.  When that same ref returned to call an  NCSU  game about three years later, he called a technical foul on the State coach within four minutes of the start of the game.

     'Badmouthing' officials at athletic events is practically within the fabric of the contests  . . . and usually remains within the confines of  decency and propriety. "Kill the Ump !" is not a call to mob violence.  Although when I was umpiring high school age recreation league games in the 1970's, there was one particularly obnoxious  fan who constantly criticized my officiating.  I ignored him.  But on the day when within hearing of the boys, he questioned the legitimacy of my parentage in blunt language, I stopped the game, walked back to the  screen and essentially told him that if he felt the need to talk like that in the presence of these kids,  "I feel sorry for you".  I did an about face and  proclaimed "Play Ball! "  At the next game, he came to me and apologized and thereafter there was no disrespect, though he did not always agree with my calls.

    The ears of most officials work well and while many comments are heard, it is essential to remain  oblivious to the criticisms.  A referee or umpire who reacts to the 'noise' is said to have  'Rabbit ears'.  An on-line dictionary defines the term as "acute sensitivity to jibes, insults, sarcasm. . ."

    Whether in officiating athletic events, politics or just 'life', it is important to be open to legitimate feedback which can include complaints and, sometimes, criticisms. 'Complaint' refers to actions, decisions, etc. as contrasted to 'criticisms' which become attacks on the person's very being and character.  And, having made the distinction, it is important to say the obvious:   Mean-spirited, evil persons can and do make wrongful, malicious decisions which prompt legitimate 'criticisms'.  

     Having attained a PhD in American History and having taught that subject  for many years, I know that even George Washington thought he was sometimes treated harshly by the  press.  The same has been true for all subsequent Presidents.  Frequently the feedback aroused public outcries that led to changed policies and/or administrations.  To seek and to hold public office in America has meant being open to public scrutiny of one's self and behaviors.  Too often, many of those same public figures have had finely tuned 'rabbit ears' and  lashed out at their critics in  punitive, less than mature behaviors.

    In  1950,  President Harry Truman replied to a non-complimentary  Washington Post review of his daughter's singing
concert by firing off a petulant letter to the newspaper's reviewer, even suggesting that he would do him bodily harm.  Still, he apparently often said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen", showing that he sometimes did not rise to his own standards.  One on-line dictionary alternately translated the phrase as "If you cannot handle the pressure, you should not remain in a position where you have to deal with it."

     "Don't take it personally !" makes no sense to someone with 'thin skin' or 'Rabbit ears' and whose actions are self-serving.  My fraternity brother, Navy Captain (Retired) Ken Sullivan correctly noted, " The bigger the 'rabbit ears' the smaller the confidence, conviction and rightness the rabbit." When there is understandable push-back and public criticisms, the aftermath of retributive reactions and rhetoric serves to demean the necessity of civil  conversations and decisions.  There is a lot of that going 'round these days.

        Satchel