BESIDE THE POINT

Time to protect our sports officials

Posted

Ok...so this week’s offering is going to have a bit of salt to it.
Not the kind I had to sprinkle on my sidewalks after learning to fly when I slipped off the cement block steps on my west porch Saturday morning, but the salt that needs to have the attention of everyone, specifically those that matter.
I’m fine by the way. The cellphone I was using to talk to my daughter went flying into the air and landed in the remaining snow, I tore some skin off a toe and now I’m sore like an old man that falls on the ice, but I can still type, so….you get this this week.
I read with a smile that Timm Lamb had been honored by being inducted into the track officials Hall of Fame last week. Timm’s one of the really great dudes in the community and has touched so many lives that he probably should be bronzed and put on a cement pedestal at Jim Youel Field. Maybe someday when either John Bohnenkamp or I win the lottery.
Those stories make you feel good about the people who each and every day help officiate and teach our children how to be good at a sport, and ultimately as a human.
But there are always humans that haven’t learned that lesson yet, and we say prayers for those people to someday admit to sins and become better people.
Until that time, society needs to take action against those who apparently are against us.
I had two texts on my phone after fishing it out of the snowbank, bandaging my big toe, and washing down a few painkillers with coffee..
The texts told me that another referee in southeast Iowa had been assaulted by a fan. Word on the street is it’s the same one that knocked out a friend of mine who was officiating a youth tournament in Keokuk a few years back.
This garbage has to stop. I messaged our state legislators, which really isn’t in the Journalism-school 101 class of what’s appropriate or not. But, at this point, I don’t care. We’re having a tough enough time retaining and attracting good officials to just keep hoping a judge doesn’t throw the bad apples back on the street.
And that’s a whole different hornet's nest. We seem to be awfully forgiving in court anymore with people who have a history of harming others walking our streets. What works is what has always worked. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. So it’s time to start squeaking, and loudly.
I have many good friends who officiate all kinds of sports for our kids. There's no point in standing on ceremony here. People like Steve Worster, Josh Ragar, Patrick Weber, Jason Marlow, the Swink family, Tom Gendron, and many others deserve better. And that doesn't even account for those officials we see in post seasons that we don't know, but do a hell of job officiating games. They should never, ever feel unsafe in those situations. I totally get that these are rare cases and are the exception not the rule, but at this point, we have to step in.
One could make the case that this could have a tremendous economic impact because if we continue to see a lack of officials, we lose games. We lose tournaments that are money-makers for so many gyms in the area. We also now will need more security at games and honestly, this year, I haven’t seen any security nor have I thought about it until today.
The money doesn’t matter to me, but it matters to most.. These are my friends and they put up with enough from the crowd yelling, “That’s horrible”, “Blow the whistle”, “Call it both ways”.
We used to be able to say and mean that it’s just a game. Well now people are investing heavily in their children’s athletic futures so maybe not.  So it’s not just a game, and we have family members beating up officials because the game didn’t go the way they wanted.
State Sen. Jeff Reichman texted me Saturday and said legislation is being sent to drafting Monday to address this issue. There was a bill last year, House File 2078 that didn’t get taken up on the floor. It’s time this issue is addressed at a level to let people know, you touch an official, you’re getting locked up. And judges need to be more sensitive to the repercussions of not sending an appropriate message to these people.
Yes, we all deserve forgiveness and a society that recognizes mistakes. No one runs on a plane of perfection, but when society can’t govern itself, the government has to step in. It’s what we’ve always done.
By standing on the sidelines covering and photographing these games for decades, I’ve come to know most of these officials. I don’t get in their way and, due to the objective nature of their work, don’t bug them a lot during games. These are good people just trying to do a job. Again, perfection is a rarity and, for most of my years, I think these folks have done a damn good job as a body of work.
And they could use some help and support, not confrontation.
So if you’re thinking the way I am, send a letter or note to your legislator telling them to protect these officials.
And tell them to ban idiots from going barefoot on icy sidewalks – But that’s Beside the Point.
Chuck Vandenberg is editor and co-owner of Pen City Current and can be reached at Charles.V@PenCityCurrent.com.

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