NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you speak to a sports fan, it’s usually easy to tell that they’re passionate about their teams, and when you get their kid or kids involved, that passion rises to another level.
While passion can be good, it can also be bad, which has been the case in youth sports across the country and Tennessee when it comes to parents and other adults in the stands.
“We deal with unsportsmanlike incidents that occur with parents being escorted out of the gym when they’ve screamed and hollered and yelled.” Bernard Childress, executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), said.
A lot of that yelling and aggression is directed at the referees. It’s become so bad that many referees decide to hang up their whistles.
“We have officials all the time that just say, I’m not doing it anymore,” Childress said, adding that 80% of officials quit within two years of starting. “The number one reason they give for not continuing is, they don’t want to be harassed anymore by adults. That’s a sad commentary.”
In response to the issue, TSSAA posted an op-ed titled: “Dear Mom and Dad: Cool it.”
The organization’s hope is that adults will realize it’s about their children having fun more than the competition itself, and when it comes to competition, you have to be respectful.
“We just, as adults, need to know young people are watching us and we’ve gotta be positive role models at all times,” Childress explained.
With referees quitting, it has caused a shortage in Tennessee and caused schools to reschedule or even cancel games due to there being no one there to officiate.
Childress said the simple solution is to treat each other with respect and be positive. Cheer on your team, and let the refs do their job.
“If officials will officiate, coaches coach, and the fans cheer in a positive way, we don’t have a problem. It’s when one of those groups try to do the other person’s job is when we have a problem,” Childress said.
TSSAA is asking anyone who would like to be part of the solution to the shortage of high school officials to sign up to become a licensed official at HighSchoolOfficials.com. Beyond that, they ask that adults serve as positive role models for the young athletes both during sporting events, and otherwise.
