Rule enforcement in a public setting: The case of basketball officiating

This participant observation study examines some of the definitional and dramaturgical work performed by basketball officials attempting to enforce formal rules in the presence of audiences (e.g., spectators, coaches, players and fellow officials). Our analysis begins with the discovery that officiating requires participation in both a real world of physical events and objects, and a social world of subjective identifications. Second, we explore the contexts of legitimation by which decisions are justified. Third, we identify dramaturgical strategies used by officials to enhance legitimacy in the face of problematic decisions. Finally, we consider the assumptions officials make about the character of their work. The paper concludes with a discussion of indexical and interpretive features of organizational and bureaucratic use of formal rules, including the case of basketball officiating.An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Knoxville, Tennessee, March, 1980. We would like to thank Michael Hughes and James Michaels for abetting suggestions and comments. The authors share equal responsibility for the paper; the names have been listed alphabetically.