SAN ANTONIO — Last year the Texas Association of Sports Officials adopted their “Abuse Of Officials Policy” in order to protect referees. Now, the policy seems to be catching on nationwide.
The policy says if the association gets three incident reports showing abuse towards officials which are then reviewed by the group’s council. If they are shown to be legitimate complaints, the school must work with the association to change their culture of corruption towards officials.
Michael Fitch, the Texas Association of Sports Officials Executive Director said, “If they just ignore us or if they come back and say, no, we don’t believe we have a problem, then at some point we’re going to say, okay, I’m sorry, but as of this date you’ll get no more tests of officials in any sport.”
The National Federation of High School Associations says these kind of rules are necessary and in a statement said, “Rules that help to ensure that the game is a good atmosphere for all participants, including officials, serve a very specific purpose. While it is unfortunate that state associations need to have policies of this nature, it seems to be the only way to get the point across about what kind of behavior truly is unacceptable in interscholastic athletics.”
Fitch says prospective referees shouldn’t worry about incidents like this, and should still go for the job. He added, “If you have any desire to be an official, don’t let this hold you back because it is a situation we’re taking care of. It’s a great way to stay in the game. But one thing I will tell you is we will give you the best seat in the house.
Fitch also says sometimes people make mistakes in athletics and it is the same in the real world. You just need to deal with them in a civil way and move forward.