NJ Little League's New Method to Combat Parent Misbehavior - Make Them Be Umpires

[Lindsay]

It seems as if the subject of umpire and referee abuse enters the national media cycle every few months—after all, the national shortage of officials still affects all sports and has led to cancelled games—and one New Jersey Little League decided to combat the problem of parents behaving badly with an interesting remedy: make them work three games as an umpire.

In the past, sportsmanship pledges amongst parents and other preventative approaches have had mixed success, but nonetheless, abuse of officials remains a worldwide problem, sometimes resulting in violent crime, physical injuries, or even death.

The trouble with sports is the same reason athletics appeal so universally: the artificial competition creates a tight-knit community through the vehicle of a team whose objective is, simply, to win a game. When that goal, or intermediate steps to attain that goal (such as ball and safe calls on defense or strikes and out calls on offense), falls short, that egoistic conflict sometimes ignites powerful emotions that can lead to poor behavior.

The cycle of abuse largely follows a circular pattern of four stages: there is the unsporting incident, followed by an attempt at reconciliation. This usually results in a time of calm with parties gaining a newfound perspective akin to a honeymoon period of sorts. But, eventually, tension builds as calls don't go a team's way or other similar conflicts resurface, until the cycle comes full circle and another incident transpires.

Will Deptford Township, NJ Little League's approach work on parents by activating empathy or an understanding of what it's like to be stuck in the middle? Or will that attempt at reconciliation and respect just prove futile? Only time will tell.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Umpire abuse strategy proposed at NJ youth league...will it work? (CCS)

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[SeeingEyeDog]

I think the idea has some merit. Sadly, I wonder how many people when faced with the choice of either umpiring 3 baseball games or not returning to the ballpark will chose not to return to the ballpark? Which means they are choosing to miss out on part of their child's childhood...

Also, I have the following concerns:

1) Does the game of baseball really want people who can't behave themselves as a spectator actually on the baseball field? Potentially, in the vicinity of minors?

2) They have to receive some training. You can't just throw someone on the baseball field and expect them to know how to work a game...ok, t-ball maybe. Can you imagine being a trainer and getting a call from the UIC, "Ok, so Saturday morning I'm going to need you on the field at 8AM to spend the day with a bunch of people who are known problems being forced to umpire a baseball game and train them..."

3) I enjoy umpiring. If I didn't, I wouldn't be out there. We take the field under a great deal of negative stereotyping. I'm not sure I embrace the idea that umpiring a baseball game is now a "punishment". Any game fees "due" to these "umpires" should be returned to the league as donations. Nobody should be forced to umpire a baseball game...and get paid for it. It's supposed to be a punishment.

~Dawg

[The Man in Blue]

I can't watch the video (need to sign into Youtube to do so), but this has been a big discussion lately.

It is one of those things that sounds good on paper ... but the execution is impossible.

I'm an umpire, not a CO.