George Ferguson: Can't have sports without referees, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to back off them a bit

February is tournament time. Whether it’s wrestling or basketball, this is a time of year everyone looks forward to.

Even referees look forward to this.

However, there’s something going on that, if we don’t get a handle on it, we’re going to have a big, big problem. At least those of us who love amateur and high school sports.

So I’ll just put it bluntly. You can’t have basketball games, or wrestling matches, or these tournaments like state wrestling, the 9C and the Eastern A Divisional in Billings without officials. Without referees, sports are strictly playground, they’re strictly YMCA. And right now, it seems like officials are being pushed to their very limits.

I’ve spent my youth playing all kinds of sports and my entire adult life covering and coaching them, and where we are right now, and how we treat our officials, it’s the worst I’ve seen, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.

Look, I’ve heard it all before. Officials know what they’re getting into when they become one. Officials need to have a thick skin. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Blah, blah, blah. None of those statements makes it alright, however, to treat them the way more and more of them are being treated. Just do a quick Youtube search, and it is easy to see the lines being crossed when it comes to how fans are treating high school officials these days. There’s hundreds of videos of just horrible stuff going on, and guess what, the videos don’t lie.

Here’s the deal. Are officials perfect? No, and they’ll be the first ones to tell you that. They are never, ever going to get a game 100 percent perfect. It’s not going to happen. EVER. They’ll make a mistake now and then. They absolutely do get it wrong. They even make bad calls. And yet, that does not mean your team or your player or your kid is getting screwed. A mistake does not mean an official has it out for you or your team, or your town. That’s just not how it works, and people need to get over that mindset.

Obviously, there are always incidents to the contrary. I’m sure we can all dig up an example of an official who went rogue. But, you’re going to find very few of those cases versus the thousands upon thousands of games where, no matter what it might looked like to you in the stands, officials were just trying to do the best they could.

And you know why officials do it? You know why they do have thick skin? You know why they put up with all the crap? Of course, it’s the awesome pay. Insert sarcasm there.

No, the answer is, they do it because they love the sport. They do it because they love basketball or football or wrestling or hockey or whatever, they love it just as much as you do. They do it because they want to contribute to this great thing we call youth sports, this special thing we have in high school athletics. They want to help keep athletics going, and growing. They love it just like we love it as players, coaches and fans.

Again, they’re not perfect, and yes, you, as a fan, can get mad at an official. But geez, give ’em a break, too. They are trying their best, just like your team is trying their best. I know you don’t like some of the calls they make, and you can be upset about them. But, man, just don’t cross the line. Don’t become a stark raving idiot when you don’t like a call or an outcome. In this day and age, don’t go viral. Don’t become a meme or a Tiktok. Is that so hard?

Listen, I know it isn’t always easy. Fans are passionate about this stuff, and you’ll always have the “I just want what’s best for my kid,” mantra on your side. Trust me, I respect your passion, and I want what’s best for your kids, too. All of us who love, coach and cheer for high school sports want what’s best for the kids above all else. After all, that’s what youth sports are about — the kids.

Having said that, if we don’t get a grip on how we’re treating our officials, if we don’t tone down the abuse of referees on an almost nightly basis, and if we don’t stop taking them completely for granted, we might wake up one day and not have enough officials left to have high school and youth sports. Because again, you can’t play the games without them.

Trust me, that’s not an alarmist point of view either. Referee pools in all sports around Montana, and in many states I suspect, have been dwindling for some time now. Numbers of collegiate officials are down as well. Three-man basketball crews are becoming much harder to get for every game scheduled each weekend. Those are the facts. And I will bet you million bucks a that the constant abuse is at least partly to blame for declining numbers of officials around the state.

Of course, you all could do something about that. I mean, if you don't like the job the officials in your area are currently doing, and you really think you could do better, than how about you throw your hat in the ring? Go get your MOA. I know they’d love to have you.

At any rate, please, as tournament time approaches, at least keep that all in mind. That’s all I’m asking. These guys and gals are trying to do their best. They’re trying to help contribute to an overall positive high school sports experience. They want to get the calls right. They want to be fair. They’re not out to get you.

And while you’re right, officials are used to people being mad at them, can we at least ease up on the crazy stuff? Can we at least try and let them do their jobs? Because if we don’t, there might be no one left to yell at one day.