Pink Whistle Punishment

[Frank in FL]

I sent emails to both the officials association and the state athletic association.  Got one back from the state basically saying it's in the official's association's hands.  The tone sounded like he didn't agree with it.  Have yet to receive one back from the guy who handed down the "punishment".  Probably won't. 

[Grant - AR]

I saw this update on this story today.  For you guys in Washington, what would happen if 143 officials were "decertified?"  In Arkansas, that would more than cripple the officiating ranks and cause many games to have no officials.

Washington officials finally disciplined for charity pink whistles

By Jonathan Wall

One of the most bizarre high school football stories of the fall season took another twist on Tuesday, as 143 football referees from the Pacific Northwest Football Officials Association were finally disciplined seven months later -- for wearing pink whistles -- by having the majority of playoff games revoked over the next two years by the Washington Officials Association Commissioner. This brings a close to a story that's been going on for months without a resolution.

To get you up to speed, a group of high school football officials in the state of Washington decided to wear pink charity whistles last year to support breast cancer awareness and donate their game checks for the week to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It was a cause that hit home with a number of the referees in the group.

But instead of the idea being welcomed by the Washington Officials Association, the group received the exact opposite response it was hoping for, as the association threatened the group with a two-game ban and the possibility of losing two game checks.

"They chose not to ask for permission, not to go the right route," WOA commissioner Todd Stordahl told KING 5 at the time. "It sends the wrong message to kids that are playing the game. 'If they broke the rules why can't I do the same?'"

Days later, Stordahl did an about-face from his threats and said no referee would be fined for using the whistles. He did, however, leave the door open for some sort of sanction against the group -- which he decided to bring down on the Pacific Northwest Football Officials Association on Tuesday.

If you're following at home, Stordahl went from threatening the group to pulling back on the threat, to then waiting seven months to finally throw a decision in at the end of the school year. It doesn't sound so crazy when you see the dizzying road this story has taken since last fall.

"There's one person who has the authority to make that decision, and it's not PNFOA," Stordahl told MyNorthwest.com.

It's a sorry ending to a story that had the potential to be a heart warmer. Instead, the WOA could be in for a fight, especially after the harsh ruling that was brought down on the PNFOA.

As MyNorthwest.com reported, the group is now walking a fine line between being able to ref playoff games in a couple of years, and never being able to ref again in the Pacific Northwest.

    Sources close to the decision confirm that the refs will have the majority of their playoff games revoked for the next two years, and their organization is on probation for the next three years.

    If Stordahl and the WOA disagree with anything the refs do in that time, they will decertify the group, and 143 referees will be out of a job.

While the referees went ahead with the whistles after being told they weren't in line with the state's official dress code, the fact that they pulled back on disciplinary action only to hammer the group seven months later is simply baffling.

Hopefully the two sides can come to some agreement in the near future, because this definitely isn't the way to build goodwill between two groups that obviously need each other.

[Welpe]

Mr. Stordahl clearly does not understand that he can be technically correct and yet completely wrong at the same time.  I've yet to read an article supporting his actions and I doubt I will. He needs some help in the public relations department.

[HLinNC]

Nothing like taking a dead issue and resurrecting it.

All he had to say, if anything, is the officials in question have been warned to follow proper procedures in the future and have been placed on "probation".

[Harry]

There isn't a Fed rule about whistle colors as far as I remember.  This is dumb.

[TXMike]

The guy behind this, Todd Stordahl, is a basketball guy....just saying......

[TXMike]

Looks like the issue is far from over...


Refs punished for pink whistles take state association to court
.by CHRIS DANIELS / KING 5 NEWS
SEATTLE -- The “Pink Whistle” officials are throwing the flag at the organizations which govern state high school sports.
 
KING 5 News has learned the Pacific Northwest Football Officials Association filed suit in King County Superior Court against the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and the Washington Officials Association (WOA). It asks a judge to overturn punishment the WOA handed down to the organization, after the officials used pink whistles in a game last October.
 
The PNFOA was using the whistles as part of a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and had donated their game checks to the cause. The group says the effort raised $4,734.
 
“We thought it was important to raise funds for Komen for the Cure, and that’s we wore the pink whistles,” says referee Gavin Anderson.
 
“There was no rule we couldn’t use a pink whistle,” says PNFOA President, and fellow referee, Jeff Mattson.
 
However, the WOA said the group violated uniform code, and a direct order given to them by the WOA commissioner Todd Stordahl. In May, the WOA issued a two-year probation for the referees, and docked them several game assignments for the 2011 and 2012 football playoffs. The WOA Board wrote in a newsletter that the referees showed a “blatant disregard of WOA policy” and “although some may not like the position taken by the WOA there has to be a line drawn and the WOA feels comfortable with the rationales used to reach this decision.”
 
The suit also alleges the PNFOA was punished for speaking to the media, and posting on blogs, about the controversy. The suit alleges the “content based restraint on speech and expressive conduct” is unconstitutional. It not only seeks to have the punishment rescinded, but also allow the PNFOA to break off as a separate organization with full authority to referee games. The PNFOA says the WIAA has a monopoly over interscholastic competition, and that WOA Membership is required to officiate at WIAA games.
 
“That is the ultimate goal, to break from the WOA and to allow the PNFOA to contract directly with the WIAA and the schools,” said PNFOA attorney Tyler Firkins.
 
“We’re setting a good example, taking a leadership role, what we think is right for all officials in the state of Washington,” adds Mattson.
 
“We wore pink whistles,” says Anderson, “It’s not that big a deal.”
 
A WIAA spokesperson said Executive Director Mike Colbrese was unavailable for comment.  Stordahl was out of the office, and did not return our multiple calls for reaction.

[AlUpstateNY]

Be careful what you wish for, you might see your wish granted but not in exactly the way you anticipated.

[Andrew McCarthy]

Sometimes guys need to stop and think why they're standing on a football field wearing striped shirts.  Hint: they're getting paid to officiate a football game.  Not to raise awareness for this or fundraise for that or who knows what else.

[Rulesman]

Sometimes guys need to stop and think why they're standing on a football field wearing striped shirts.  Hint: they're getting paid to officiate a football game.  Not to raise awareness for this or fundraise for that or who knows what else.

Are you related to Todd Stordahl?