Refs not to be punished

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Michael

Those high school refs who wore pink whistles to support breast cancer research have won the day. Todd Stordahl, former Internet villain, has made the situation right.

“The WOA did not have nor continues to have any intention to fine, take away games or deny pay checks to any member due to wearing a pink whistle,” Stordahl said in a message on the WOA website.

He said the WOA “completely supports” many worthy causes, such as breast- and prostate-cancer awareness, but added there is “a process to follow.” Representatives from the two organizations will discus that process at an upcoming meeting.

“The last thing we want is to be at odds with each other,” Stordahl said.

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High school refs may be punished for supporting cancer research

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Michael

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month right now and a lot of people are doing a lot of good things to support research. One example comes from Washington where a group of high school refs decided to donate their playoff paychecks to breast cancer research – while using pink whistles. Unfortunately, Todd Stordahl, chair of the Washington Officials Association, wants to be a stupid prick.

The chair of the WOA, Todd Stordahl, told KING 5 News and MyNorthwest.com he has little choice but to discipline officials who used colored whistles. He claims that letting them continue without punishment would send the wrong message to student athletes.

“They chose not to ask for permission, not to go the right route,” Stordahl told KING 5. “It sends the wrong message to kids that are playing the game. ‘If they broke the rules why can’t I do the same.'”

Though no discipline has been decided upon, Stordahl indicated it was likely that pink whistle-blowing officials would be suspended for two playoff games. That would not only keep the referees from working at the annual pinnacle of their sport, but also cost them two game checks.

Ha. The wrong message? The wrong message?! How about this message, Stordahl:

Your mundane, stupid, silly, trivial, unimportant, meaningless rules don’t fucking matter. You’re taking money away from breast cancer research. How about you ask all those high school athletes with relatives with breast cancer if this is what they want? Ask them in 25 years if they feel they learned a valuable lesson from an asshole like you.

Fortunately, the refs aren’t backing down:

Meanwhile, MyNorthwest.com is reporting the PNFOA (Pacific Northwest Football Officials Association) is arguing the dress code for officials does not technically specify that only black whistles be used, which means any suspensions would be unwarranted. That follows a Tuesday PNFOA meeting in which the group’s president, Mike Livingston, said the board voted unanimously to use the colored whistles, regardless of penalty.

The officials themselves seem to be on board with the PNFOA decision, due to a commitment the referees felt to both breast cancer awareness and each other. There’s little indication that the threat that came Thursday night from the WOA will keep them from using the pink whistles they intended.

“A lot of the guys in the association have been touched by breast cancer in some way,” referee Jeff Mattson told MyNorthwest.com. “So we decided to take on the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”

It’s plainly sad that it’s actually necessary for anyone to delve into the legal minutiae in order to win this argument against that scumbag Todd Stordahl. We’re talking about human lives. I hope Stordahl gets fired.

Stordahl’s email: tstordahl@woa-officials.com

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