Umpire abuse crosses the line

Last month, at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, a particularly obscene example of vicious heckling erupted that delayed a game between Texas A&M and the University of Florida.

Two spectators taunted the Florida coach — about the death of 11-year-old Gators’ batboy Brody Reinhart, who, along with his brother, were killed in 2021 by their father, who then fatally shot himself.

The Florida coach, Kevin O’Sullivan, is now married to the boys’ bereaved mother, rendering the verbal attack in Omaha extra sick. The two adult Texas A&M “fans” were ejected by security officers, prompting discussion of a lifetime ban from the stadium, Charles Schwab Field.

Then-Texas A&M head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle appropriately apologized on the team’s behalf for the actions of the pair.

“Whoever those two guys are, they don’t represent what Texas A&M is all about. And whoever those two guys are, don’t come back. “Let’s not let those two guys back in the ballpark,” Schlossnagle said.

Gutless antics seem to stain the broader backdrop in amateur competitions more each year. Some of the best evidence that our civilization is deteriorating in places of recreation comes from the abuse that part-time umpires and referees face from those who indulge in what has been forever known as poor sportsmanship.

OFFICIALS PULL OUT

As Newsday reported in revealing detail, the number of people willing to serve as umpires, referees and other sports officials in youth leagues and school athletics is declining on Long Island and nationwide. It’s disgraceful, but not shocking, that the decrease is largely attributable to waves of verbal abuse by parents, spectators, players, and even coaches who are supposed to set a proper tone.

According to lists published by Long Island’s public high school sports associations, Nassau has seen a 25% drop in the number of referees since the 2011-12 school year, while Suffolk has experienced an 18% decline.

The many eyewitness accounts behind the numbers are especially telling.

Angry spectators have followed referees into locker rooms and to their cars after games, apparently not realizing that they’re crossing way over the line of proper sportsmanship. Entire sections of wrestling-match spectators have been ejected due to verbal abuse. Patti Richter, who has officiated six school sports on Long Island, has made it a practice to take down license plate numbers of abusive or threatening fans in case she needs to file a police report.

Bill Topp, president of the National Association of Sports Officials, told Newsday: “Fan behavior and negative behavior in general is the number one reason sports officials are quitting or not coming back or not entering in the first place.”

Complaining about officiating is as old as sport. But there’s a big difference between the classic, “You’re missing a good game, ump,” and the harassment that takes place these days.

Searching for the root causes to this miasma of free-floating public hostility is a sociological study all its own. Perhaps it’s the same social mood or predicament that keeps some people of good conduct and reputation from running for public office.

And again: The need for adults to grow up goes far beyond Long Island.

Last July, an unusual demonstration by umpires briefly caught the public’s attention in Taunton, Massachusetts. Members of the Amateur Baseball Umpire Association rallied, after an ugly incident at a Taunton West Little League game. As described by local media, an angry parent jumped on the field and loudly confronted an umpire after a call the parent didn’t like. After the game, parents reportedly followed umps to their cars to further harass them.

LESSONS FOR CHILDREN

Clearly, this isn’t just about kids competing for fun and developing skills. We all need to ask ourselves: If one of the purposes of youth and school sports is to impart lessons, what are our kids learning from this kind of abusive behavior?

Has the general national disrespect for authority and for the greater public good become too difficult to reverse? Has the pressure to succeed overwhelmed amateur athletes and coaches to the point where those in the game lash out at those in charge?

Perhaps it’s a bit of all of these factors.

Pat Pizzarelli, executive director of Section VIII, the governing body of scholastic sports in Nassau County, laments how parental pressure afflicts players.

“This is high school sports,” Pizzarelli said. “It’s not the end of the world. Our student-athletes are learning something about life when they play sports. The fans need to understand that too.”

If adults fail to act their age, there should be fair rules prodding them to do so. In Deptford Township, New Jersey, one Little League imposed a rule: Anyone who fights with an umpire must do the umpiring themselves for three games — or be banned from attending for up to a year.

In Seekonk, Massachusetts, anyone heckling an umpire during a game cannot come back for 24 hours. Hecklers who remain defiant face further restrictions from the league’s board.

Long Island officials, coaches and parents should consider how leagues elsewhere are coping, and which crackdowns work. The lack of civic decency these days goes beyond sports — but that’s no excuse to accept the ugliness.