Video of parents fighting high school umpires is a warning. We need changes now

I watched the video of baseball umpires being attacked in a Sacramento-area high school parking lot after a game and cringed. “Oh no, not again!”

As a Northern California Officials Association group leader for softball umpires in the Sacramento area, I get very protective of my guys because of what they have to deal with from the fans during games. I feel for these baseball umpires in the video, cornered out by their cars after a game. They must be wondering why they do this job, for which they receive little pay and very little genuine praise.

The parents were mad because the umpires disallowed a home run, after a Buhach Colony player missed first base during his home run trot. Later, Del Campo scored the winning run on a close play at the plate. Tempers flared. It’s a sickening pattern of behavior that is becoming all too familiar. It would not be too far-fetched to guess a dad (the guy in the red hat), believed he knows more about baseball than any of us and is “entitled” to his say about what happens in a given game. I’m guessing he was quite vocal about it and felt he was entitled to a confrontation with the umpires.

I could be wrong.

This dad has probably spent thousands of dollars on his son’s baseball training and equipment costs, travels to all his games, making sacrifices at his day job because there is nothing he loves more in this world than to see his boy play ball.

I see a wife and a mother, also in red, trying to break up the confrontation. I feel for her. She is brave, she is a peacemaker. She might not be happy with the outcome of the game but she is trying to keep her husband from taking it too far. I’m guessing she has a knot in her stomach at games when her husband starts complaining about the umpires’ calls. She’s caught inbetween. I see the plate umpire trying to get between his partner and the angry dad.

I see two umpires who have just put a few miles of work in the hot sun, feet, knees, back all hurting. They are the only people at this game who have been on their feet for the past two-and-a-half hours and are looking forward to sitting down to hydrate. Recent studies by sports officiating organizations indicate these two guys just made between $11-15 per hour, after expenses associated with training, mileage, uniform, dues, insurance and equipment costs are considered. And now they are about to have what we officials call a postgame meeting to go over the details of the game, looking for ways to improve their work.

These guys put in the hard work to be the best they can be, to give back to a game they love, to ensure a level playing field for everyone’s son or daughter … even those whose parents can’t seem to understand that this is just a game. They are a special breed. And they are a dying breed.

And if we want to protect the high school sports we love to watch our kids play, then we better do something about it, and quick.

We are in a crisis in the sports officiating world. The National Federation of High Schools, which governs high school sports, says we have lost over 50,000 sports officials nationwide in recent years. Our sports officials are getting older, many are in their 70s. Retaining officials through the COVID era has been difficult. In my NCOA softball group we have lost about 30 percent of our officials, including nearly every female umpire.

According to Muller Sports Services, which assigns officials for all high school sports in the northern half of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section, dozens of high school softball games have had to be cancelled this season due to a lack of umpires. Dozens more varsity games, which have always had two umpires, had only one umpire available to work that day.

In one varsity game this year, a 78-year old umpire, right arm bandaged and sore from a foul ball in a previous game that broke the skin and left a nasty bruise, was hit in the other arm during the game with the same result. The game was stopped for 10 minutes while that arm was bandaged and his bloody sleeve was covered with an ace bandage. He accepted his assignment that day because he knew if he didn’t the game would be canceled. His name is Roger Mettler, and after 40 years as a baseball and softball official, he is retiring from the sport.

Special breed indeed. And who will step up to replace them? The guy in the red hat? I don’t think so.

But I could be wrong.

Getting younger men and women enthused about becoming referees and umpires is becoming harder to do. I am on college campuses quite often talking to student athletes about becoming sports officials. They look at Twitter and YouTube videos like the one of the umpires being attacked in the parking lot and tell me I must be joking! I just searched “referee being attacked” and it took Google 0.27 seconds to come up with 37 pages of news stories with video of basketball and soccer referees being assaulted.

Young people see their coaches screaming at the officials when their team is up by 20 points with a few minutes to play. They hear the angry, negative remarks coming from the stands. Why would they want to put on an official’s uniform and deal with that nonsense when they can make more money flipping burgers or waiting tables? Parents and coaches need to think about that. The NFHS code of ethics for coaches states that they “shall exert his/her influence to enhance sportsmanship by spectators.” I salute the coaches who get this. For those that don’t, this video should be a lesson.

I want to point out that in our high school softball community we have almost zero problems with coaches harrassing our umpires. I’ve been to several baseball games this year and have seen great leadership from the adults on the field. Tip of the cap to these coaches.

Make no mistake, coaches have every right to make appropriate comments about our performance. It keeps us on our toes and makes us better officials. We can ignore the comments borne of frustration for the most part. It’s when those comments become too loud and mean spirited that we see parents, usually a dad, become triggered. If the coach is yelling, why can’t dad yell too! When the situation escalates, does it make the umpires better at their jobs? Would you do better at your job if you had an angry guy yelling at you? Would you do that job for $11-15 per hour?

Retention and recruitment of high school officials is suffering a huge downturn and it will only get worse at the rate of pay these officials are receiving. In Southern California, officials and school administrators have formed a task force and are addressing these issues. We need to do the same in Northern California. We need to partner with schools on more training for coaches on how to deal with unruly fans. The adults in the room have got to support one another if we hope to recruit smart, young, athletic sports officials, and retain the experienced veteran officials we have.

If we don’t, more of these videos will surface, young people will be repulsed, veteran officials will move on, and we will lose high school sports.

I could be wrong, but I’m not.

Pete Dufour is a 25-year sports official who has worked all levels of various sports up to the collegiate level. He writes a weekly high school softball feature for The Bee. He can be reached at PeteBeeSports@gmail.com or on Twitter @Pete24Dufour.