Should I use this quote?

[Batman]

Covered a soccer game tonight where the local team won, but got six yellow cards in the process. The other team had none. One of the yellow cards was on the coach (he was berating the refs the whole game and deserved it), and two were on their best offensive player (hard foul, followed by a shouting match with the guy he fouled; the fouled player did not get carded).
So, after the game I asked the coach about all of the cards. Trying to get a sense of why he thought there were so many on his team and the effect they had on the game, if any. He answered by calling the refs biased, saying they were afraid to call a lot of fouls on the visiting teams. This game was at the coach's home field, and all of the refs are from this town.
Now, if I use this quote this coach is sure to get reprimanded and possibly fined by the state association. The yellow card he got was not his first this season for yelling at refs, and from talking to a few of them I know he's already got a reputation as a whiner. As soon as he finished that quote, he goes "and you can put that in there." I asked if he was sure, and he said yes, adding, "I'll probably get a phone call tomorrow anyway."
I also asked the player who got the soft red card why there were so many cards on his team, and he gave a less controversial answer that also called out the refs a little.

Soooo...the dilemma is, how many of you would use the coach's quote? It might have been some frustration, and the part of me that has a heart doesn't want to get this guy fined if I can use the player's quote. Part of me says **** it, though. I gave him a chance to take it back and he didn't.

 

[friend of a friend]

Really? You're asking if you should use a good quote?

 

[forever_town]

My take on it is: He said it, use it.

And I'd add in there the "and you can put that in there."

Your job is to report what happens, not protect the coach from himself.

 

[Stitch]

i would mention both the coach and the player's quotes. A coach or player by itself blaming the refs isn't much, but both doing so indicates a team cares about whining instead of playing.

 

[hockeybeat]

Absolutely use it.

 

[beardpuller]

After he said "and you can put that in there," you pretty much have to put that in there. For some reason, he wants you to, whether that's smart of him or not. You are a reporter, not this guy's PR consultant.

 

[mike311gd]

I don't think you have to use it, but if the story goes that way, and it helps paint the picture, put it the **** in there. It's not your job to worry about the coach's reputation or wallet.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I don't think you have to use it, but if the story goes that way, and it helps paint the picture, put it the **** in there. It's not your job to worry about the coach's reputation or wallet.

Except do you get suspicious that he's so insistent you use it?

I say feel free to use it, but really, high school coaches bitching about referees isn't really all that presses-stopping.

 

[Batman]

After he said "and you can put that in there," you pretty much have to put that in there. For some reason, he wants you to, whether that's smart of him or not. You are a reporter, not this guy's PR consultant.

That's the dilemma. Was he just blowing off steam, or was he really pissed off about it. Just finished my gamer, and here's what I ended up writing. I put it at the end of the story, because the cards really didn't affect the outcome of the game (the guy's team won, after all). They were more like a juicy detail. The names have been changed to protect ... well, me, from outing myself...

The Cornholers' ego also took a beating from the referees. They were called for six yellow cards, including one on Podunk coach **** Blowhard for a constant, gamelong barrage of criticism toward the officials. Joe Blow drew a double yellow and an ejection 10 minutes into the second half. Blow took Jimmy Gottanstd down with a hard foul for the first yellow, then got the second when the two started jawing back and forth. Gottanstd was not carded -- and neither was Faraway High for the entire game.
"I said I'd come back for him," Blow said sheepishly.
While some of the Cornholers' fouls and cards were well-deserved, Blow said he was given the impression by the officials that the game would be called looser than it was because of the muddy conditions.
"At the beginning of the second half, he said the field was muddy and they were going to try to keep it under control. But after I got my cards, it was a catastrophe," Blow said.
Blowhard took it a step further.
"I think it's a little bit of us losing our cool and a little bit of the refs being biased," he said, noting that the officiating crew was from Podunk. "I think they go out of their way to avoid looking biased, and they won't call anything on visiting teams."

 

[beardpuller]

Batman, I think you handled it well.

 

[mike311gd]

I think you're fine, chief. But I'd expect a phone call from Mrs. Gottanstd.

 

[Some Guy]

I tend to tread lightly with HS coaches bitching about the refs, since many of them are blowhards with all the media savvy of a turnip. I tend to let them vent without burning them in print, as opposed to a D-I college coach or pro coach, whose comments about officiating would absolutely be fair game.

BUT ... in this instance, the coach indicated that he knew what he was doing, he was aware of the consequences of his actions, and he was OK with you using the quote.

So I say use it, and let God sort 'em out.

If it were just run-of-the-mill bitching about a run-of-the-mill bad call, I might leave it out, too. But six yellow cards is pretty substantial, no? I've not covered soccer before, but I'd assume it is.

 

[mike311gd]

I tend to tread lightly with HS coaches bitching about the refs, since many of them are blowhards with all the media savvy of a turnip. I tend to let them vent without burning them in print, as opposed to a D-I college coach or pro coach, whose comments about officiating would absolutely be fair game.

BUT ... in this instance, the coach indicated that he knew what he was doing, he was aware of the consequences of his actions, and he was OK with you using the quote.

So I say use it, and let God sort 'em out.

If it were just run-of-the-mill bitching about a run-of-the-mill bad call, I might leave it out, too. But six yellow cards is pretty substantial, no? I've not covered soccer before, but I'd assume it is.

It's rare that you see more than two in a high school game, let alone a pro or college match. Six is obscene.

 

[Stitch]

Well, considering the entire sport is on probation from the high school federation in my state, six cards seems like an easy game for the refs to call.

 

[Batman]

I tend to tread lightly with HS coaches bitching about the refs, since many of them are blowhards with all the media savvy of a turnip. I tend to let them vent without burning them in print, as opposed to a D-I college coach or pro coach, whose comments about officiating would absolutely be fair game.

BUT ... in this instance, the coach indicated that he knew what he was doing, he was aware of the consequences of his actions, and he was OK with you using the quote.

So I say use it, and let God sort 'em out.

If it were just run-of-the-mill bitching about a run-of-the-mill bad call, I might leave it out, too. But six yellow cards is pretty substantial, no? I've not covered soccer before, but I'd assume it is.

It's rare that you see more than two in a high school game, let alone a pro or college match. Six is obscene.

Yeah, Some Guy, as reprimands go a card in soccer is basically the equivalent of a technical foul in basketball. A yellow is a warning and no big deal. You usually get them for rough fouls or, like the coach, for mouthing off. Two yellows (called a soft red) is an ejection. You can also go straight to a hard red, which is an immediate ejection AND they can't sub for the player. Those are rare, and usually only given out for fighting.
So, six yellows on one team -- in the absence of a bench-clearing brawl -- is something noteworthy. Especially when the other team gets none.

And I also try to give high school coaches some slack. A lot of them don't know any better, and shoot off without thinking about it. I'll usually tune them out if it's obvious their morons. If it's not a crucial part of the story, there's no reason to cost them several hundred dollars (the fine for criticizing refs in most states) for no good reason. These guys aren't millionaires, after all.
In this case, though, it was a noteworthy part of the game and something needed to be in there about it one way or another. He shot off, got the chance to reel it back in, and didn't bite. Oh well. I'd like to have a bug in that phone when the AD rings him up tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for the advice, all.

 

[John]

Don't forget to follow up to see if there were any fines or suspensions. And call the state athletic association to see what its take on it is. Six cards in a game that didn't involve a massive brawl is rather absurd.

 

[Walter_Sobchak]

I have several questions.

1. If this is HS soccer, in what region do they play the sport in the winter season?
2. If this is HS soccer, how are they fining coaches for quotes in the media? I could see suspension, but fines?
3. Were you serious when asking if you should use the quote?

 

[Smash Williams]

HS soccer is a winter/spring sport in some states. It starts in January in my neck of the woods and runs through late March.

 

[mike311gd]

Some states have indoor, too.

 

[HandsomeHarley]

Definitely use it. He said it to a reporter and you even offered him a chance to back out of it.

The repercussions are his -- not yours.