[Jim Bryant]

Well.....guess with my 40 years experience I'm not a professional sports shooter. Let's see some of your work here on the forum. And this is your first posting...hummmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Originally Posted by Jim News

I am very sorry, but I have to strongly disagree with you. I am a professional sports photographer and I spend a lot of my time shooting in dark gyms. During play, you never, EVER, use a flash unit of ANY kind. There is no need to have an official "rule", it's simply not done. As a photographer, you are not there to intrude on anyone in any way, which means when I've done my job correctly and to a high standard, no one even noticed I was there. Pitching your case the way you did to the officials and the Athletic Director, was in my opinion, very unprofessional. It is not their job to accomodate you, nor your editor.
If you cannot get the shots you need with the rig you have, get a different one. Cameras such as the Nikon D3 and D90 provide excellent performance in low light. If you must, leave your 2.8 zoom in the bag and go with a 50mm 1.4 and crop in post.
I shoot sports in gyms that are legendary for their poor lighting. Do you not realize that even a small flash can distract or obscure a player's vision. If that happens, if only for an instant, they are blinded when a ball is traveling at them at nearly 70 mph. NEVER FLASH DURING PLAY...EVER!