A little league in New Jersey doesn’t want parents and fans berating umpires and has devised a wild plan to ensure their good behavior…
Watch Amanda explain the situation below:
Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Great America News Desk.
I see nothing healthy about harassing umps, coaches, etc. when your little darling child gets called for whatever infraction he or she has committed. We are the adults. Let’s not turn out little loved ones into jerks like we can sometimes be at a game. I’m all for it! Everyone definitely does not deserve a participation trophy for showing up. Ridiculous.
I totally Disagree with You. And agree with the policy. Here is the thing. 1.) I am a Republican and very conservative. 2.) I am also a Father of 1 and and Uncle to 10 nieces and nephews. 3.) Most of the Umpires are UNPAID. With that. This is a Childs sport, mainly to teach kids not only how to play the sport. But, also about sportmanship, working together (team mates), and learning from losing, how to improve to win. It is sad that it has to to this. But sadly, way too many entitled parents think their kid is the Next Pele’ , LeBron, Babe Ruth, or Elway. And they some very unhinged things. They not only toss around profanity like a sailor. But, they also punch and assult umpires. Is that the example you want 6-12 year olds to see? In my tiny Village, the Mayor got into a shouting match, with a 17 year old kid. OVER T-BALL for Christs Sake!! If Parents and others are NOT held responsible. How can we expect the Children to Grow up to be Responsible ADULTS! Fair play, teamwork, losing gracefully and sportsmanship will build more independent Adults. And I think that is the Real goal here. Teaching skills that will help our kids compete and succeed as Adults.
Amanda,
Fun topic. I coach LL for my boys (6 and 9) and our games are using older kids as umpires. They range from 5th to 8th grade. And our league has been having issues finding enough umpires. Why? Because they are complaining that too many “fans” were questioning their calls and sometimes yelling at them. They are all volunteers and still kids themselves, so I think we should cut them some slack. It’s just LL. My $0.02.
Thanks!
The people there can make that group go away.
I am a retired Hockey Ref. Heckling an official is one thing, ABUSE of an Official gets you removed from the premises. 0 Tolerance for Abusive Parents berating their children or the officials.
Parents being abusive does not contribute to the well-being of anyone. It is time people woke up and realized that we are playing a game and not the World series.
Professional Sports is another matter to me. I’m speaking singularly about youth sports
With the Greatest Respect
Semper Fi.
The version of the story I heard on the radio is that umpires were quitting because of the level of abuse from parents.
If that is accurate, this plan isn’t putting umpires out of work. It is the proverbial “killing two birds with one stone” by filling vacancies behind the plate while teaching the worst of the parents what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the abuse.
On the other hand, I doubt the parents in question will make good umpires.
You just don’t get it do you? What are you teaching your kids? Great sportsmanship? The issue is respect. I’ve learned over the years most parents or coaches don’t have a clue about the rules of the sport their kids are participating in at the time. They haven’t read a rule book but yell at the umpire/referee because everyone else is yelling. Take the time to learn the rules and teach your kids the rules of the game as well as what sportsmanship is all about. That’s what a good parent is supposed to do instead of teaching them its the fault of the umpire/referee they lost. The majority of the umpires/referees don’t have any “skin in the game”. They are there for the love of the sport and to make every effort the game is played by the rules and there is a level playing field.