From an early age, we are taught to be good sports when playing games. It’s something that’s ingrained in us as we grow up playing games, whether they be card games or sports.
And while I think we do a pretty good job overall in treating our opponents with respect, we don’t do the same thing when it comes to the referees of a sport.
Over the years, I have seen my fair share of bad calls made by the referees. I’ve even questioned them at times when I couldn’t figure it out, but I’ve never gotten hostile with them. I might kind of tease them a little bit, but once the game is over, the game is over and there’s no reason to keep it up.
However, I’ve seen a number of fans, especially parents of players, get aggravated to the point that they will berate refs when they make a call that goes against their team regardless of whether it was a good call or not.
I get it. Most referees make mistakes. Sometimes, a controversial call here and there might be the difference in a game. Or even the way the whole game was called appears to be one-sided.
However, coaches never make excuses for those calls. They know it’s part of the game. You have to overcome those calls, just as you overcome other types of adversity throughout the season. Most coaches would even say that they should have never put themselves in that position to where a bad call here or there could change the outcome.
And I think that’s something that fans and parents need to understand. The refs aren’t singling out their child or being unfair to their school. They are just calling it like they see it.
Refs understand that you’re not going to make everyone happy with the way they call it, but there’s no reason to abuse them for just doing their job. It’s OK to question close calls, but give them a break on the simple calls. Your kids are watching you.
But even on the close calls, there’s no place for abuse. We need to keep emotions under control, as we expect the players and coaches to do the same. There’s no reason to charge the ref before, during or after a game. That’s wrong any time.
The abuse that referees are facing from angry parents and fans are having a far reaching impact on sports. There is a growing shortage of referees in sports. Young referees only last about three years because of all the abuse they take. Some who probably would like to referee don’t because they don’t want to put up with the abuse from fans.
I’d hate to see sports eliminate cheering, both positive and negative, just so that refs will be able to do their job and not fear for their safety, but if things go the way they are, it might be a possibility.
Brent can be reached at brent@newtoncountyappeal.com.
