Amara Comfort

An umpire at a high school softball game directing the players to the correct spot.

Referees, judges, umpires, and officials are a staple in almost every sport, no matter if it’s a professional league or Pop Warner sports. A referee’s job is to oversee a competition, make sure that all players and coaches are following the rules, and penalize anyone that is not following the rules. 

Referees are sometimes required to make “Tough Calls” that fans often do not agree with. In a last-minute situation, all the pressure is put on referees to make the right call. It has been over a decade since the “Fail Mary ” game, and fans are still divided on the call. With seconds left on the clock, quarterback Russell Wilson launched the ball into the endzone, and it was caught by both the wide receiver and the safety on defense. At first glance, it looked like an incomplete pass, but the refs ruled it a touchdown and the Seahawks defeated the Packers 14 to 12. 

“The calls are impossible to make even if it is your job. There are still human mistakes that will happen,” athlete Connor Downey said. “You can’t please everyone and do your job at the same time.” 

The NBA has a system in place called the Officiating Last Two Minute Reports which is when the league looks back at the officiating near the end of a close game to ensure the right calls were made. Often when looking back, they realize that the wrong call was made or a call was missed. A good example is the Boston Celtics vs the Los Angeles Lakers in

the 2022-2023 regular season. In the last two seconds of a tied-up game, Lebron James went up for a layup and was hit on the arm by his opponent which qualifies as a foul, but the referees did not see it. The game went to overtime, and the Lakers lost the game. When looking back at the game for the last two-minute report, the NBA’s officials realized that there was a clear missed call on the referees’ part. I think all sports would benefit from the NBA’s Officiating Last Two Minute Reports. It would allow officials to reflect on calls and better prepare for a tough situation that could arise later. 

In Little League, referees are often used as teachers. Instead of calling out everything the little kids do wrong, they will often pull them aside and explain to the child what they are doing wrong and help them correct it. That often backfires because most little leagues have championships when referees have to make calls they may not have made earlier in the season. 

“It’s hard to call little kids out on their mistakes every game,” Little League Coach Derek Hall said. “Once we make it to the playoffs, if they’re still making those mistakes it could cost us the trophy and they will blame the refs for calling something they’ve done all season.”

Referees are often a big part of the community they grow with the kids that are playing. Since I was four years old, I had the same referees officiate my games. I remember one referee, named Nick, who would always give me tips after the game. He officiated for all of my brothers when they were in Little League. For my very last game as a middle schooler, he pulled me aside and talked to me about how the coaches wanted me to be on varsity as a freshman so I needed to work hard and be ready by then. It is one of my favorite basketball memories, and I remember it so vividly because Nick was also a referee for my first varsity basketball home game.

“I’ve had the same my entire life from Upward, to middle and high school basketball,” Downey said. “It’s been the same officials watching me become a better player.”

Many believe that professional referees should be reprimanded for making bad calls. While I believe a system should be in place for official bad judgment calls, I believe that harsh punishments such as fining the referees, putting them on probation, or even firing them is too extreme. People often forget that professional referees are human just like the men and women that we grew up with. Even though their job requires them to make the final decision during a sporting event, it does not mean they’re going to make the right decision 100% of the time. All over social media like X

(formerly Twitter), there is discourse on referees making bad calls and how the refs should be fired.

“As much as we complain we know a game can’t be played without refs,” basketball player Daphne Anderson said, “They bring structure to the game without them it would be complete chaos.”