March/April 2019 - 20

TIMEOUT!
COACHES MUST HELP
STEM REFEREE ABUSE
By Matt McCallum, CEO, Winning Hoops
After nearly two decades of coaching basketball at the
youth, travel, middle school and varsity levels, I have
witnessed the intensity of cruel verbal attacks on officials
being taken to a new level. Twenty years ago, there was
that one guy who always screamed at the referees. Today,
mobs of fans berate officials after every call.
Parents are also becoming more hostile toward coaches.
At a game this season, there was a fan from an opposing
school pointing and yelling at me all game. I wasn't sure
what he thought he would accomplish. Near the end of the
game, as the other team was trying to foul us, another fan
yelled at his team to " handicap " our players.
After the game, a coach from a nearby school who was
scouting our team walked down from the stands and told
me that the same belligerent fan wanted to punch me in
the face. I thought it was a joke. Then, one of the officials
walked over and said that the fan was a " disgrace " to that
school. He suggested we all walk out of the gym together
to ensure our safety.
Is this what it has come to?
Enough is enough. It's time coaches work with the
referee associations and school administrators to take
drastic action to curb bad behavior. The National
Federation of State High School Associations has taken a
step in the right direction and partnered with state athletic
associations to ask sports parents to do a better job of
managing their emotions at games.
Coaches and athletic directors everywhere may have
already read the op-ed, " Dear Mom and Dad: Cool It! "
The organizations launched the campaign earlier this
month to combat verbal - and sometimes physical -
abuse against coaches and referees at high school events.
This is a good first step, but I believe the best way to
combat this epidemic is a grassroots effort by coaches
and school districts to educate parents on proper
behavior and hold the bad actors accountable. Here are
some ideas:
1. Coaches should lead by example and stop screaming
at the officials. If they have a concern, talk to
the referee quietly and refrain from putting on
a show. When coaches are animated in their
displeasure, the crowd feeds on those actions in
a negative way.
2. Communicate to parents prior to the
season that screaming and booing at the
officials is not tolerated.
3. Talk to players about being respectful to
officials, and why it's important that they set a
good example for parents and fans.
20 MARCH/APRIL 2019
March/April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March/April 2019
