We are standing on the shoulders of giants.
Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like we have forgotten that. Every sport seems to recognize, remember and honor their legendary players and coaches, but there is another group of legends that tends to be “erased” upon retirement. They are the guardians of fair play without whom the games would not exist. Contest officials ride off into the sunset and then we often do not hear from them again. Honestly, if we do not hear from them, it is entirely our fault.
Officials who came before us should be remembered and celebrated the same way we remember the greats who played and coached the games. Officials who work today should know the history of officiating and the legends who came before us. I was once told by Dr. Dan Salzwedel, former New Mexico Activities Association executive director, “If we forget the past, we forsake the future.” At the age of 21, I do not think I truly understood what that meant, but now I think about it every day and I fear we are forsaking the future in officiating.
You see it all the time at college and professional sporting events when a former player or coach is brought out to flip the coin, throw out the first pitch or wave at the crowd during a timeout. Why are officials excluded from being honored or remembered? How hard would it be to bring the men and women who served their sport for so long back to the games they loved for a moment of recognition? There are officials in every community who would love to have a moment in the proverbial sun at a professional, collegiate or high school game, to be remembered the way the other legends are.
If you officiate currently and you do not know the greats of your sport, you should start learning who they are right now. Those can be local legends in your community or association, or the all-time officiating greats of the collegiate and professional levels. Understand their struggles and appreciate the things that made them great. Take time to know the battles they fought and how they impacted every single one of us in the industry today.
Finding ways to keep former officials connected to the avocation is critical. We can learn so much from those who came before us. Invite them to your meetings. Ask them to watch your game film. Take time to just reach out and thank them for their role in your career, or for laying the foundation for your sport or your association. None of us ascends through officiating without countless people helping us along the way. Never forget those who helped when you needed it and always remember to let them know what they mean to you.
When my husband and I moved to Indiana a few years ago, one of the best parts of the move was the ability to visit legendary NFL referee Jerry Markbreit more frequently. We drive up once a month to his Chicago suburb to see him and his wife, Bobbie.
We talk a lot about officiating, and I get to learn from one of the all-time legends — one of the godfathers of football refereeing — while eating eggs and drinking coffee. At the same time, I get to learn from his wife about her journey as an official’s spouse and her stories are as spectacular as his. Jerry has forgotten more about officiating than most of us will ever know, and he shares his wealth of knowledge willingly and lovingly with me and anyone who takes the time to ask him. That connection to the past makes me better equipped to work in this industry today and in the future. We all need that kind of connection.
Officials are the forgotten element of sports. It does not just happen upon their retirement. It happens every day. Officials are sometimes only remembered or viewed as important when they do not show up to a game. There should be people greeting officials at games and ensuring they are taken care of from the time they arrive to a contest until they get in their cars to go home. Having someone to serve as a concierge to officials seems like a utopian concept, but it would not be that hard, especially at the higher levels of sport. If the two teams competing can be treated with respect and provided hospitality, so should the third team!
As we look at the numbers of officials across the country, we are seeing growth at the interscholastic level, but that does not mean our efforts to recruit and retain should let up, even for a second. We need to continually recruit officials into the avocation, but the element of retention is imperative. We can aid in the retention of today’s officials by activating those who came before us as mentors and observers. We can help the overall health of the officiating population by doing things that make officials feel special while they are working and when they decide to hang it up. We can be active participants in the retention of officials by fighting for them at every turn — how they are treated, how much they make, how we honor them, how we protect them, how we show up for them.
Officials need to have “fans” in their corner, cheering for them, just like the teams, players and coaches have. We need people who will speak up and have their voices heard on behalf of officials. Officiating administrators at every level need to be willing to go out on a limb for the officials they serve and should be the biggest supporter of the officials in their charge. We need to remember the words of composer Gustav Mahler, who said, “Tradition is not to preserve the ashes, but to pass on the flame.” The flame can only be passed on by remaining connected to the people who came before us and built the foundation we sit on today.
We stand on the shoulders of giants. If we do not remember that right now and treat current and retired officials like the legends they are, we will leave the next generation of officials with no one else’s shoulders to stand on in the future.
— Dana Pappas, NFHS Director of Officiating Services
