Umpired for a few extra bucks when my wife was home with our daughter to supplement our income . It was horrible . Frequently a close call would entail 4 or 5 players , on which ever team the call went against , to rush the field . The league was organized . I realized that the use of alcohol at the games might cause a volatile situation for me and after one scary incident just walked away .
4
The players (LeBron especially) are terrible, the coaches are worse (NU coach Chris Collins doesn't even have a seat on the bench, he's always up screaming at the refs), and the refs are the worst. Anyone who watches any televised sport knows how many calls the refs miss (and not away from the ball, so they can't falsely claim they didn't see it), and how incredibly inconsistent the calls are. If the refs T'd every coach and player who complained, it would be the only good calls they'd make.
2
College basketball is big money for schools with winning teams. Big money trumps sportsmanship every time.
Pay the refs more. Pay the coaches less.
7
No doubt that referees make mistakes and bad calls but the coaches are sometimes way out of line. The breaks can go either way as you won't see a coach pitching a fit if a bad call was made in their favor. It happens all of the time that sometimes you get the bad call and sometimes a bad call goes your way.
5
One aspect that wasn't mentioned was the growth of sports betting across the country. More and more fans will now have a direct financial interest in the outcome of the game. Plus, when refs make so little money, you leave them open to influence.
Earlier this year in a game when Duke beat UVA, UVA scored a meaningless basket right at (or right after) the buzzer. It didn't change the outcome but it did change the spread. Those who bet on Duke lost.
5
Interesting article and fascinating comments. Nearly all defend referees and relate that refereeing is really difficult and demanding. Indeed, referees are human and can make mistakes. They are often only too human also--prone to favoritism, prejudice, revenge, and lust for power. How many times do not the powerful, top ranked teams seem to get the close calls. How many times aren't some big time coaches allowed to "work" the refs? How is it that some players are called for infractions that others aren't? How is it some pitchers get the corners and others don't? How many referees don't seem to enjoy the power of ejecting someone? I think there should be electronic calling of balls and strikes, more replays with correction of bad calls, more willingness to admit mistakes. I know many people love the idea that it just part of sports to be able to yell "kill the ump" and part of the fun to be aggrieved. Many worry that too much time is wasted with challenged calls and replays. I think, however, that far more important are getting it right, being objective, and being fair.
2
Kill the ump?
I began refereeing while a high school student, officiating YMCA baseball, basketball and football, learning firsthand about the abuse umps and refs take from players and spectators.
Today I see players and coaches screaming at refs every time things don't go their way and wonder why the officials put up with it. Refs are expected to get 100% of their calls right while excellence in baseball is one hit out of three and 40% accuracy in basketball is considered outstanding performance.
Announcers are quick to criticize, too, with the benefit of zoom slo-mo and endless replays, overlooking the fact that they don't have to render their opinions quickly and in real time.
Let's try two experiments. In one, let's make announcers referee games for a week. In the other, let's have no referees at all. Then we can see how that goes.
10
Baseball Umpires made the decision a few decades ago to have zero tolerance on controversial calls. What a mistake. Refs and Umpires are only on the field to minimize controversy, not to cause it. There's a difference between a blown call (inevitable) and a he said/he said brawl owing to byzantine on-field nonsense
Get a grip, America. These are college kids playing a game. Games are supposed to be fun and the kids are supposed to be in college to further their formal education and not their ball-playing.
4
As my mother used to say- "Losers weep, moan, and gnash their teeth while the winners call out Play Ball!". The refs should become very proactive in ejecting coaches, players, and fans who can't control themselves. It's a wonder that anyone volunteers for that job.
2
So we've blamed the coaches, the parents, the fans, the money, the rules, the speed of the game, the rigors and demands of the job, and that hoary old taunt, "If you think you could do it better, just try it."
Reffing and umping are hard, but these guys we see in the NCAA and the pros are not weekend rugby or soccer coaches. They're supposedly the best-trained, most competent, most experienced, most well-conditioned in their professions. Video replays on large arena screens certainly make the whole thing more challenging, but why should referees be immune from the challenge? And the fans, the players and even those misbehaving coaches have a right to the referees getting every call correct. Yes, a lot of money is at stake. So?
I saw one game this season end on an egregious call, but it was explained that this particular type of call was not reviewable. Why make some calls reviewable and others not? Makes no sense to me. We have the technology, why not use it?
The video of the Arizona State foul that led to Hurley's ejection doesn't provide much support for the anti-ref crowd. It's a pretty blatant (albeit unintentional) trip and not remotely close to being a charge. Bobby should calm down until a real reason to complain comes along; it will.
3
Sometimes calls get missed. I think some players coaches and fans need to realize that in a close game, you may not get the call in a pivotal moment. Fans have been blaming refs and umpires probably since the dawn of sports. If you want to win, play better than your opponent, take the missed calls in stride and get over it.
4
I think the pictured incident regarding Coach Boeheim was the ONE time in 43 years that he was ejected from a game.
Refereeing basketball is really hard and occasionally there are bad calls. Refs should give the aggrieved protester a little slack when a close, disputable call has been made. By giving some respect, they might gain some.
1
What happened to sportsmanship?
Oh yeah, it got lost in an ocean of money.
7
I spent two seasons as a youth rugby referee and it was probably one of the hardest and yet most satisfying things I have ever done (including grad school). The amount of focus required, combined with the need to always maintain ones composure even if you think you just blew a call, are uniquely challenging. Because if you get stuck ruminating on the last call you’re going to blow the next three.
It should be a requirement for everyone involved.
I will add that rugby referees certainly make mistakes just like any others, but they benefit from a culture where everyone addresses the referee as “Sir”
4
@David Brook David, too true. Rugby is a tough sport to referee, 1 ref and 30 players. But, the culture is a bit more conducive to an orderly game, including the laws about treatment of the referee.
2
When my daughter played varsity hoops in high school I was not the model of a well-behaved parent. Now that I'm into my 8th year of officiating basketball, I humbly regret my impatience and the rude comments that I sometimes made to officials. Maybe because I work hard at my craft, I have very little trouble with coaches and fans during high school games. If I make a bad call, I am harder on myself than any coach could be. And I will make a debatable call or two in every game - guaranteed. Working the AAU circuit, however, is a completely different story. I now choose to only officiate one or two high level tournaments per year. Some coaches of "select" teams that charge parents thousands of dollars per season can be absolutely off-the-charts horrible to officials. I understand why it is so hard to engage the very best HS officials to work these tournaments. So instead, the organizers find anyone with a striped shirt and a heartbeat. Sad.
3
@Mark Can you agree that no one who is refereeing steps onto the field or floor with the intention to referee poorly?
Like many school teachers, I refereed often, mostly in high school wrestling. The tournaments are a real grind, starting early in the morning and finishing up a 9 or 10 pm, for which you might get paid $100. The finals were the hardest matches to call at a time when you're exhausted from working matches all day. And God help you if you blew a call early in the day because you'd hear about it all day long. Most coaches were OK to work with, but the ones who weren't certainly did not represent their schools in the way one would hope. I never boo any ref after my days on the mat.
3
I've provided my share of lusty boo's aimed at the refs. I thought it was my job as a fan to help my team by letting the refs know when they blew call. Now I live in Japan, where I've never heard a boo and I've never seen a coach shout at a referee. Even at the professional baseball level (or high school baseball, which is huge here), I've never seen a coach let alone a player react angrily to a ref's call. Occasionally, the refs will get on a microphone and explain a particular ruling to the audience. The fans are quite boisterous, full of chanting and cheers. But no open displays of anger at the refs.
10
@Matt: You bring to mind Gandhi's response to the question, "What do you think about Western civilization?".
1
Here's a thought. After the national anthem, have a moment where the refs all come to the center of the court/field, and the announcer says "let's recognize and thank the refs who were here today, for the hard work they do. Without them, we can't even have this game! Thanks refs---we appreciate all you do!"
Second thought: as a parent of four children, I've noticed the bad spectator behavior begins with parents. Call out the other parents at your child's game and tell him (usually a him) that his behavior is bad modeling for his child on the court/field. Perhaps we can alter the behavior before it begins.
5
@Jim Stevens Anyone who attempts the latter had better be good with his fists, because, from what I've read and seen, the parent whose bad behavior is called out is already boiling mad and even a little uhinged.
4
@Jim Stevens
It's safer for everyone involved to just ban those parents. It might not be a bad idea to ban their kids too. From the behavior I've witnessed that seems to be the only thing that might cause them to think about their actions. Entitled sports parents are the absolute worst.
2
I refereed men's, women's and high school rugby for 20 years. Depending on who you spoke to, I did well, or not so well. Regardless, I did it because I enjoyed the sport and it was a way to stay involved.
I can honestly say that no referee sets out to have a poor game, just as the players want to do their best. I learned through experience that it takes an incredible amount of concentration to keep your focus when things begin to unravel.
The biggest advantage a rugby referee has is the game itself. There is no allowance for players speaking to the referee, nor can the coaches climb on board. In fact, most rugby unions have regulations that deal with unruly coaches/fans. Too bad other sports don't follow suit.
3
I'm certainly biased, of course, but I take some issue with this article lumping Oregon coach Dana Altman into this group. Sure, he gets worked up like any coach, but compared to the others named here, he's basically a lamb.
1
Refs do it because they love the game. Really love it. And they love and respect the athletes too. There's obviously very little money. And the opposite of glory.
So it's just crazy, when you think about it, in the calm between games, how bananas we all go when a ref makes a call "against" our team. In those heated moments, it's like they stole your life from you...but they're really just great guys.
12
Back in the 80’s at a Dallas Mavericks game at the old Reunion Arena, one of the fans in the expensive seats to exception a ref’s call, and threw a cup of ice onto the court. Other fans in his area pointed him out to the cops, who took him away, along with the briefcase he was carrying. The briefcase had thousands of dollars worth of cocaine in it. Never let the refs get under your skin.
4
As a former college and high school basketball referee, my focus was on doing the best I could...for the players. I never expected to please the coaches nor the fans. The parents of players is another story completely!
5
I think more disciplining of coaches is called for -- T them up a few times and they'll get the picture.
And for a different take, observe top-level soccer, where the referees have great authority, and their decisions (including reviews of video replay, just recently introduced) are final. Yes, they (and their assistants) make the wrong call from time to time. But everyone -- players, managers and fans -- seem to recognize that they have a hard job, and that they get the vast majority of the calls right. They "manage" the matches so that things do not get out of hand on an overall basis.
3
These college coaches have big egos and bigger paychecks. They think they are part of the show. They love to fire up their fans and players with indignant behavior toward the referees.
15
I've noticed over the years the coaches have literally cross the line on where they stand on the side lines (even though their are lines and strips where they can go and not go). I also notice the bigger the program the more that coach can be actually be on the court. Many times the referee have to push the coach back off the court during the play. Simple resolution is to give them one warning next time they can only coach sitting down. A minor point but it reassures the referee they have control of the game not the coaches.
9
@Larry
I agree, certain coaches are given too much leeway, constantly straying onto the court (or angrily questioning referee calls), while others are penalized immediately. I'd like to see those 'operatic personalities' respect the rules like everyone else — and the refs enforce it evenly.
7
I cheer for the refs.
Of course, I was an amateur ice hockey referee, so I have a bit of a different perspective.
Every parent should be required to referee at least one game. I don't care if they do it in spiked track shoes. But they should all try it...talk about a complete change in perspective.
22
I am waiting for abused referees to walk out of the game and let the players/coaches finish it without them...
21
I remember over three decades ago when I was a senior in high school, being a baseball umpire for the town's rec department. Started out calling games for teenage games. Absolutely hated it - everyone yelling at me from players to coaches to parents. Kept moving myself down age groups until it was fun for the kids, parents, and players -- ended up with the 5-8 year olds making a bit less money per game, but it was fun. And I was quite sure as a high school senior I wasn't supposed to be getting an ulcer as an umpire!
Now as a volunteer coach for my daughters' u10 soccer teams, our league has strict rules - no yelling at refs or coaches or players for that matter. Bad sportsmanship - and refs and coaches get to kick parents out. That's the way it should be.
Start issuing technical fouls and fines (or jail time for true harassment as identified in this article) on and off the court, and we might be able to save sports from themselves.
17
Trey Burke, Peyton Siva
2013 National Championship —
the block was clean.
6
@Brunella
And so was the team.
1
@Brunella
It’s called letting the players decide
BTW, the women's NCAA tournament starts this week, too.
7
@David Burbidge
And those coaches are just as bad.
5
I challenge anyone who abusively disputes a referee call to officiate any sport at any level. Until you have, you have no basis to understand what referee's see, how they see it, how they apply the rules, and how mistakes happen. Yes, mistakes do happen. Guess what, your sports heroes make mistakes too - every game - which is why there are officials. It is part of the rule set that certain calls can be disputed and others cannot. After that, its the official's call. Disagreement is fine, and should be encouraged. Abuse should stop a game cold. It is beyond disgusting what officials have to endure to provide the best game environment possible for ungrateful coaches and fans. Grow up please.
17
My view for a long time has been that it’s just too difficult to officiate. They have to make immediate calls on plays that, when looking at replays, is usually not clear cut. Add that to the reality that whichever call that is made will result in screaming fans and coaches, they might as well “call them as they see them.”
I try to think of bad calls as turnovers, but the make up calls do not help.
1
If you cared about the integrity of the game you would ban instant replay. You can’t treat some plays differently than others just because they happen towards the end of the game.
As the article mentioned, the refs do an incredible job on their own; it is on us the fans to grow up and accept the occasional bad call. It’s a wash in the end anyway, your opponent is just as likely to suffer from a bad call.
23
Then there are only 2 solutions. 1) You can stop watching. 2) You can accept that refs do an amazing job under super-stressful conditions, 3) That can realize that refs can occasionally mistakes (wow, really, they're human like all of us?) 4) Be one of those fans who turns fanatical and blames the referees for this or that particular call while exempting their team from responsibility. 5) Get over it, grow, show sportsmanship, which is a beautiful word, isn't it?
7
Underwood's monogrammed cuffs, nice touch. Commodified sports at all levels are a disgrace.
2
I can't bear to watch sports that have significant referee involvement any more. The referees are incapable of correctly calling games, and there's just too much money at stake for such a situation to be fair to the participants.
3
@Jim
Refereeing games is hard work because you have to make split second decisions. It is easy to say what is the "right call" after watching it in high definition slow motion, but that is not how it happens in real time, so no referee will ever be up to the standards of a person such as yourself. As long as refs are treating both participants equally, the game is fair.
1
@Jim, you must never have officiated any sport at any level. The single biggest problem we have in organized sports today is the inability to get new officials, due in large part to abuse. I have been officiating soccer for 15+ years, from the little tykes up to NCAA Div 2. I have experienced the abuse at every level. I'm not talking about just verbal abuse. I'm talking being followed out to my car, being physically threatened, spat upon, and yes, the garden variety "you suck ref!"
You say, "The referees are incapable of correctly calling games". Ok, try this:
1) Sprint 30 yards.
2) Turn around, sprint 40 yards.
3) Turn around, sprint 50 yards.
4) All the time you are sprinting you have to watch the play in front of you.
5) At the end of those 3 sprints, stop, decide if the play you just saw was an infraction of the rules (in soccer, we call them laws).
6) If so, then blow your whistle, decide who commited the infraction, then point in the correct direction of the restart.
By the way, once you stop sprinting, you have 0.5 seconds to do steps 5 & 6 CORRECTLY. If you get the call correct, then you have to deal with the players, coaches and possibly spectators who disagree with your call. If you are incorrect in your call, then you still have to deal with players, coaches and possibly spectators who disagree with your call. So it's a no-win situation.
That's what it's like as a sports official.
5
@Jim
So what sports do you watch? Are there some that don't require an official to adjudicate the play? Just curious.
At this level of competition, money is the root of the problem. The coaches see their big contracts fading into the rear-view mirror and the players who think they are the next NBA millionaires are equally cranked up. At high school levels, parents and young people see potential college scholarships disappearing if their kids don't get into the state finals. At elementary school levels, parents believe that officials can be the cause of their children not getting into high schools with "good feeder programs" or missing out on AAU Travel Team opportunities. Basketball, like so many other previously pleasant pursuits in our society, has devolved into madness. And not just March Madness.
8
What's not mentioned but contributes to the inconsistency of officiating (yet the quality is still at a high level) is the obvious profiteering of the NCAA. Pay coaches millions, have schools earn tens of millions, huge TV contracts, sneaker and other sponsor endorsements, but pay officials as independent contractors with no benefits and no expense reimbursement. Because they don't really matter.
31
@Jonathan Hutter
Agreed. But on a larger point the officials still get better pay than those that people actually pay to see --- players.