Life Isn’t Linear- Episode 8: Where have all the umpires gone?
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Between 2018 and 2021 a total of 50,000 high school referees quit, 60% of them gave the reason of verbal abuse from parents and fans. Other times it has lead to physical altercations where parents or fans attack an official. What is sad is this isn’t new. This has been happening for decades and it is apparent that this trend has accelerated. Or maybe video on our phones makes it seem more common. I wanted to do an interview with my friend, Mr. Randy Meehan who has seen it all through the lens of a baseball umpire.
My apologies for my audio, it was a result of a temporary headset. It will be corrected in the future.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/business/umpire-shortage-parent-behavior
https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/04/28/ohio-sports-officials-shortage
https://www.axios.com/2022/04/22/youth-sports-referee-exodus
https://vault.si.com/vault/1962/03/26/kill-the-umpire-why-bother-hes-quitting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s94qFTBrDGI
Always feel free to email me at lifeisntlinearpodcast@gmail.com
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