The Politics of Officiating:
Is It Who You Know or What You Know?

by Courtesy of 101 Tips for Youth Sports Officials

National Association of Sports Officials

Politics is a nasty word to most officials. They believe that knowing the right people will help them move up the officiating ladder. Is that perception accurate or is it just sour grapes? What can you do, Without compromising your principles, to enhance your chances of lipward mobility? This story cuts through the myths to examine the political realities of officiating.

You've seen it happen. The oldest referee in your association, who also happens to be the president, gets the biggest game of the year. The association secretary is selected to handle a clinic (and pick up a nice speaking fee at the same time). Someone in the group who "can't ref his way out of a wet paper bag" is hired by a college conference.

Unfortunately, politics exist in every segment of youth sports. Parents try to influence the selection of their child to a certain team; Coaches try to influence officials during specific games or manipulate officiating assignments.

Youth leagues exist for the kids they serve. If a league forgets that and gets caught up in political back-biting, it will ultimately fail. As you develop your officiating, consider whether the league you're working is right for you. It probably is not if it"s fraught with political problems.

Why do those things happen? Most officials offer a simple, oneword answer: Politics! Then they'll add: "Politics are everywhere!"

True or false?

• Politics are largely responsible for which officials work the best schedules and the most prestigious games.

• Politics are responsible for which officials handle rating decisions and hold leadership positions within an association.

Answers to both: True. But there is more to politics than the negative image so often the topic of angry conversations among officials.

Check Webster's. You'll find some interesting words used to define "politics." Crafty. Unscrupulous. Cunning. If you think of politics as people taking shortcuts, the lazy official looking for a quick road to the top of the officiating list, those words ring true. On the other hand, another Webster's definition describes a totally different side of politics: "... wise; prudent in devising and pursuing measures; shrewd; diplomatic." It's the more attractive side of politics, now frequently called "networking."

Both definitions are accurate. Your own experiences determine which you feel is more dominant. Those same experiences probably determine if politics and networking have enhanced your career.

To find out how different officials view politics, and how they use politics, we discussed the subject with several active rank-andfile referees and umpires from around the country. The common denominator: Officials relate politics to "career advancement."

"Young officials need to be taught that politics is real in the officiating world," said Paul Wilson, of Norman, Okla. The former NASO board chair is the director of recreational services and an instructor at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Wilson officiated at the major college level for more than eight years. Today he concentrates on basketball only and officiates at the small college and high school level in order to be closer to work and home. A confessed "officiating junkie," in his younger days, Wilson's officiating career has at various times included baseball, football, track and swimming.

His is the negative view of politics, including any number of ethically questionable activities he's witnessed over the years designed to ingratiate one person to someone with the authority to promote a career. Personal favors, complimentary meals, coerced social activities, well, you get the point.

But Wilson agrees that new officials, or officials who want to advance their careers, must do something to gain recognition. "In the real world, politics are very nasty. As a nation we see politicking as, 'You have to give up something to get something.' You owe somebody something at the end of the whole political sequence," explained Wilson. "If you are 'networking' you are putting your information, your tools, your skills in front of the right people. Those people, if they have integrity and any ethics, eventually are going to say: 'This is a person we need to use. He deserves a shot.'"

One example is Wilson's own experience in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference of Officials, a group he joined in 1972, hoping to advance from high school to collegiate basketball games. "I spent five years in the conference before I even got a game," he remembers. "I realized then there were politics."

Wilson also remembers that several varsity coaches asked him to work JV contests. Two wondered aloud why he was not working varsity ball. Of course, Wilson was wondering too.

"What did I start doing?" he recalled. "I started figuring out from other officials where to hang out to get in 'the clique'. I started socializing in 'the circle' with the guys who were 'in" with the president of the association, with the assignor. All of a sudden I was networking the right people. All of a sudden I was starting to get some games. It took me five years before I figured it out. No matter how good I was and no matter that the collegiate coaches were saying they wanted me, I couldn't get games until I started playing politics."