Kristi Moore speaks on the field before a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves on Friday, April 22, 2022, in Atlanta. Moore was punched in the face less than two weeks ago by a parent who did not agree with her call on a play at second base at a girls’ softball game in Mississippi. Major League Baseball umpires Lance Barksdale and Ted Barrett were outraged when they heard of the assault of Moore. They wanted to show their support, so they invited her to the game Friday which they are calling. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
A few weeks back, I reported on about the devastating assault on Kristi Moore, who was punched in her face by a mother of one on the players following a girls youth softball game. I want to give an update on what has happened since. This is from an article that appeared in the Washington Post.
When one looks at the ugly bruise encircling Kristi Moore’s left eye, it’s not surprising so many refs and umps are hanging up their stripes. Why put up with incessant taunts and threats from out-of-control parents?
Why fret over potential violence — even the chance of losing your life — because someone thinks you blew a call at a 12-year-olds’ softball game? America is facing a crisis in prep and youth sports, where fewer and fewer people are willing to take on the thankless job of officiating games. “The veterans are quitting by the droves. They’re sick of it,” said Moore, who oversees fast-pitch softball umpires for the state of Mississippi as well as the city of Laurel. “When we work to recruit new people, get ‘em trained, get ’em out there on the field, they’re three or four games in when someone gives them a good cussing out or an invitation to get their tail beat. They’re like: ‘You know what? I’ll go cut grass on the weekend.’”
Kristi Moore understands why? A couple of weeks ago, she was umpiring a girls’ softball game. She rarely works on the field anymore but stepped in to the $40-a-game gig because another umpire was ill. On a play at second base, Moore called the runner safe.
A parent watching the game thought the runner was out. She began screaming profanities, according to Moore, “accused me of cheating these kids. ”Moore ordered the woman to leave, which she only agreed to after the ump threatened to forfeit the game — but not before vowing to settle things later. Moore didn’t think any more of it, having endured similar threats during her 10 years as a youth umpire. But as soon as the game ended, the enraged mother was waiting. “I was maybe three steps off the field and she was there,” Moore recalled. “And that’s when she punched me.”
The woman was arrested and charged with simple assault. In addition to the black eye, Moore said her injuries include nerve damage and a bruise inside her ear. All of that will heal with time. The mental wounds will be more of a challenge. Moore has not been back on the field since the attack. She’s not sure if she ever will. “In the back of my mind I’m like, ‘What if she had a knife in her bag and stabbed me? What if she went to her car and got a gun, then came back and shot me?” Moore said. “It’s just scary.”
A couple of years ago, just before the pandemic started, the state of Michigan had roughly 13,000 registered high school officials. That number is 8,900 today. Yet Michigan is one of 28 states that does not have any specific laws protecting sports officials.
From 2018 to 2021, an estimated 50,000 high school referees — roughly 20 percent — quit, said Dana Pappas, the director of officiating services for the National Federation of State High School Sports.
Officially Human, an organization that promotes the respectful treatment of referees, conducted a survey of nearly 19,000 officials in 2019. Asked what their top reason for quitting would be, 60 percent said verbal abuse from parents and fans. According to a 2017 survey of more than 17,000 referees by the National Association of Sports Officials, 39 percent said that parents caused the most problems with sportsmanship. (Coaches were second at 29 percent.)
Here are excerpts from a recent NY Times article on sports officiating.
Some who haven’t quit, like Tyrek Greene of Dayton, Ohio, are being more selective about the assignments they take. Mr. Greene, 21, recalled working as the referee at a soccer game for 9-year-olds when a mother became upset that he was not calling fouls against her son. He said she got up from the bleachers, walked onto the field and screamed in his face before turning to her son and telling him, “You kick other players too, then!” “I refuse to do little-kid games just because parents are absurd and they take the game way too extremely,” said Mr. Greene, who has been a referee for five years. Referee organizations are looking for solutions. Soccer referees in San Francisco are considering delivering introductory speeches before games in an attempt to humanize themselves and draw empathy from spectators. The Nebraska Referee Developmental Program ran a public campaign this year with the tagline “Who are you yelling at?” to highlight referee abuse, emphasizing that 60 percent of officials are 17 or younger. Officially Human is partnering with leagues and teams to conduct classes on sports etiquette for parents and coaches.
When you yell at or criticize a referee, do you know who you could be criticizing? 40% of referees here are in their first year, 60% are 17 or younger.
Recently I had a conversation with my former umpire assignor on how the early baseball season is going. I was shocked when he said he cannot remember a month when there were as many ejections as his crew of umpires have had this April. He said the behavior of coaches, players and fans is the worst he remembers in the many years he has been working as an assignor and an umpire.
I keep wondering when people are going to wake up. How many games are going to be cancelled due to the lack of sports officials before people wake up? Just last week, in a varsity baseball game between two of the top-10 high school baseball teams in the state, there was only one umpire. High school baseball and softball games are now being played on Sunday, which up until a few years ago was a no-no. We have a problem that is only going to get worse until drastic measures are put in place to protect sports officials from the verbal and sometimes physical assaults they face.
My good friend Dan Mausolf, a fellow basketball official and former green’s superintendent at Radrick Farms Golf Course, has notified me of a silent auction for MSU’s turf research program, which is one of the best in the world. The auction will run from now until May 8. There are many great golf courses in Michigan who have donated rounds to the auction. If you are interested in participating and playing on a course you may not normally play, this is your opportunity. I will keep this link on my blog until May 8.
Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Quote of the Day: “Fear is a deadly virus for which there is no vaccine. By embracing that which terrifies you, you will discover what makes you feel most alive” Maria Shriver, at U of M’s commencement on April 30, 2022
Orchid of the Day: The citizens of Ukraine who were able to escape the confines of the steel mill in Mariupol
Onion of the Day: Michigan legislature for not enacting laws to help protect sports officials.
Questions of the Day: How would you like it if spectators were allowed into you place of employment and they yelled at you every time they thought you made a mistake?
Video of the Day; No video because I have two images.
Well stated. Let’s start a campaign for a law in Michigan to protect officials. I’m going to start doing some research to see what has or has not been done.
Scott
I have a call into my Stale Rep. I will let you know how it goes.
Biggs