Referees Scotty Herman, John Haefeli and Peter Contreras discuss a questionable call during the Cowgirl game against Loyola Marymount.
During games, fans are concentrating on what is going on with the players and coaches and the game mechanics. They often do not recognize, or rather just overlook the rule enforcers of the game, the third party regulators.
Referees, those important people of authority responsible for presiding over games from a neutral perspective, make all the decisions that can make or break a team’s chances to win. They often go by many other titles that vary by the sport including umpire, judge, arbiter, linesman, touch judge or Technical Official.
You can recognize the North American sports referee by the traditional black uniform with vertical black and white stripes. It also is not uncommon for referees to wear bright reflective yellow, green or orange shirts during games.
When it comes to becoming a certified referee, it is not required to have a college degree. It requires knowing what goes on in all the games and what is and is not allowed. Numerous exams, training seminars and field assessment evaluations are required in order to be certified.
Officials also go through a probation period where they must work side-by-side with a referee coach or instructor. They are then assessed based on their competencies and are evaluated on their performance. This then grants them the opportunity to be a step closer to that big professional referee position. One other feature refs need is love for the game, a main reason people become referees in the first place.
Although these officials are vital in maintaining fairness during games, they are often some of the most disliked individuals on the court.
Steve Robinson, a retired high school football referee who traveled all around Wyoming, knows the hardships that come with the job.
“No matter what call I would make, there would always be those who disagreed. I always understood fans supporting their team, but it got to the point where they were trying to tell me how to do my job. That was the frustrating part, trying to make fair calls and being ridiculed for it,” Robinson said.
There are a number of negatives to being a referee. Though they are put through intense training to assure spectators that they have a “professional eye” for what is going on in the game, there have been a few instances when a team has lost the game because of the wrong decisions by the refs causing teams to lose the game.
There have also been instances in the history of games where the referee is bribed by a team in the game to make decisions favoring them.
Along with the negatives, there are some salary perks that makes the job worthwhile. Umpires for Major League Baseball earn a minimum of $120,000 a year, according to MSN.
NBA refs can earn as little as $100,000 to as much as $300,000. As for NFL refs, they can earn between $25,000 to $70,000. This amount might be seen as measly compared to the other leagues, but taking into consideration that the NFL refs only work on Sundays, Mondays and occasionally Thursdays, that is actually quite a bit. Many refs in the NFL have normal daytime jobs such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers and businessmen.
“Regardless of the tough things I had to face while reffing, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I learned a lot about the game that you’d only know from officiating it and I met a lot of great kids. It’s not an easy job when so many people tell you you’re doing it wrong, you just have to know you’re doing what’s fair to both teams,” Robinson said.
After learning about the person in uniform, some find they have a higher level of respect for the profession. Being a referee is definitely not for everyone, and it takes time, skills and wit.
