We can certainly understand why parents get so invested in their children’s games but that does not give them the right to act like total jerks.
At long last, one New Jersey town has decided that they are finally going to punish parents who behave in this manner. When bad sports parents get abusive towards the referees, they are going to have to face the following consequences.
Deptford Little League is now requiring parents who are overly mouthy to the umpires to take a walk in their shoes. That’s right, they are going to have to get behind the plate and see how hard the job is.
That should go a long way toward showing them that it is not as easy as it may look. We’d all like to think that we would be the best referees until the time actually comes.
In case you think that this is merely a joke, the parents who are tabbed for referee duty are not going to be allowed back on the premises until they have done their time behind the plate. According to ABC 6 Action News, league president Don Bozzuffi had the idea come to him after he had a few of his umpires quit. He explained, “They [umpires] said, ‘We didn’t sign up for this. We don’t need harassment.'”
Naturally, Don was upset. He said, “I went home and was trying to figure out a solution. Nothing in the past has ever worked.” That’s when the idea dawned on him and it is a brilliant one, to say the least.
The plan preyed on two different fears that all of the parents have. First of all, none of them wanted to be excluded from their children’s ballgames and secondly, no one wants to be the umpire! It is much easier to simply stay in the stands and keep your comments constructive. This should help to deter the abuse and keep parents from getting too out of hand.
“We want to enlighten them to understand what an umpire goes through,” Don said, according to the outlet. “Maybe, just maybe, they will understand that this is not the easiest thing in the world.”
Before anyone asks, Don shared that he has the full support of town officials. “It’s refreshing to know that everyone is on board. I’ve had phone calls, emails and texts from Little Leagues across the country. Two of our district towns say they are going to try to implement this,” he went on to say.
We hope that more Little Leagues are able to put this rule into play. The obnoxious parents must be stopped!