Clearing the Air on My Junior High Football Officiating Take

Ok ok ok, let's take a step back here. A couple of days ago, I wrote an article after my son's junior high football game. I spoke about the officiating and questioned if there was bias going on in the Texas Panhandle amongst junior high officials.

To say I got dragged in the comments is putting it lightly. Look, I don't mind taking one on the chin, but I do feel there were some things that were misinterpreted. I wasn't saying there WAS a bias; I said watching the games, it felt that way. Allow me to explain.

Respect For The Officials

First things first, I want to say I have a ton of respect for officials of any sport. I've coached youth baseball for over a decade. I know their job isn't easy. I don't expect they'll get every call right. There are replay systems and challenges in every sport these days for that reason. Yes, they're human, and I understand calls are going to be missed.

I didn't yell or scream at the officials once while in the stands. There were many who did, but I was not one of them. My son's team actually won the game. I saw many comments saying, "Let me guess, your team lost". No, they didn't. In fact, they won both games I mentioned in the original article. However, win or lose, the things I've seen in those two games left me questioning things.

Missed Calls Directly In Front Of Officials

On numerous occasions, there would be an official standing directly in front of a penalty happening. The home team committed the penalty: blatant penalties such as a face mask or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by shoving a kid's head into the ground AFTER the play was done.

In one instance, the play was over; the kid committed the personal foul with the official standing right over the two kids involved. He's looking down at it, a face mask is pulled, the kid's head snaps up, then is shoved into the ground. The kid who had his face mask grabbed looks up at the official, puts his hands up, and the official promptly looks up and away. These types of things happened more than once throughout the game.

Flags Thrown Well After The Play

Numerous times in the most recent road game, there would be flags thrown after the kids were huddling up for the next play. I literally watched with my own eyes the opposing coach talking to the referee long after the play had finished. He pointed out at one of our players and gave the sign for holding.

All of a sudden, a flag came flying in from the sidelines. Holding, offense. Mind you, this happened 10-15 seconds after the play had completed. It also happened after a big 15-yard gain for a first down. One kid even had a flag thrown on him for unsportsmanlike conduct. What did he do? He literally asked the referee what he did wrong on a play. Not demonstrative, no arms flying or anything. A simple question. Flag thrown. 15 yards forward for the home team.

Delayed Calls Impacting A Game

Now, I understand delayed calls. I get that they're delayed sometimes because the official is checking to make sure they're seeing what they're seeing. I had a listener send a video regarding my first article showing their son making a clear catch for a touchdown. Possession, three steps, down to the ground in the end zone.

The two kids roll over each other; the kid still has the football in his possession; the kids stop moving. The referee is in the frame of the video. Play over. Defender rips the ball out of the hands of the touchdown scorer. All of a sudden, an incomplete call is levied...against the visiting team. It couldn't have been a cleaner catch with no question of possession. Incomplete.

Response To The Comments

As stated previously, I can take it on the chin. I've got a thick skin and understand comments coming in. There was even an invitation from TASO for me to view a game from the sidelines to see what officials see. I want to make it clear, I don't believe it is biased; it was a question I asked based on what I had seen in two road games. I wouldn't be ok with it even if it was in my kids' team's favor.

I want games across all sports to be called fairly. The kids deserve that, and I do believe officials do the absolute best they can. I'm not here to drag them through the mud. I've written many articles about the lack of officials because of screaming parents and coaches. I'm not here to run more off. I 100% plan on becoming a youth umpire once I'm done coaching. I feel I owe it to the game.

Accountability & Questions Answered

However, I am about accountability and holding officials accountable. I do question things, just like you do, just like anyone does. When you see something that seems to be a pattern developing, you ask questions to get answers. At the end of the day, that's all I was asking for. Did I get some? Yes, there were some constructive comments that were left, and I now believe the officials have zero skin in the game.

On the flip side, if you aren't at these games, you don't see what we see. This isn't about having "daddy eyes" or anything like that. It's about knowing and understanding sports, penalties, calls, etc. So before you assume I'm blaming officials because my kid's team lost, or anything of the sort, understand that what I see out there week after week starts to pile up and create a pattern. I was simply mentioning what I had seen and was asking a question.