Quote:
Originally posted by SeanFitzRef
I live in the same general area as JRut, and I concur with his assessment of the situation in our area. There is a tendency for assignors to 'buddy up' the assignments so that thier friends and family get first dibs on the spotlight games, then everything else is dished out to whomever. It is definitely true that as a minority official here, we have to 'work harder, do more, and be better' in order to move up. I have worked varsity games with officials that would have a hard time doing a solid 8th grade game, and I have worked a freshman A/B game with some that could easily handle the pressures of a varsity game. But if you aren't 'connected' (by whatever connection you need with some assignors) then you just won't get the games. I've worked several games where I'm the ONLY darker face in the gym, so I already know that I have to bring my A+++++ game, instead of just the A+.
The flip side is that some people don't want to work hard, and just expect longevity to get them what they want. This tends to hurt those of us that want to move up due to the quality of our work, not just the quantity. Guilt by association.
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I am an IHSA official, but only in name as I live near Madison, WI. I work about 10 varsity boys basketball games in Illinois each season and I take my football crew down for 1-2 games each year. I was fully licensed the past few years, but I'm sliding down to reciprocity next season as I don't have the time or inclination to go through the promotion process.
I've worked Chicago public league schools (in tournaments) and when I lived in New Orleans, I worked schools from that city -- where all players were African-American. I've worked with white officials and black officials.
The first (first!) time I ever had someone make a racial comment was this season in Illinois at a football game. I could only bring three from my crew, so the assignor suggested two African-American officials for my crew, specifically since one of the teams was almost all African-American. I agreed and wondered what the big deal was.
I found out at the game. Even though the predominately African-American team won, fans made racial comments towards me (the white, white hat) while walking off the field. Granted, the fans had every right to be annoyed at me. I threw 3 USC flags against the team, including one against the head coach who was completely out of control. I had the same tolerance level I do every Friday night, but it made a difference to the team and fans that I was white and they were black.
The two African-American wing officials were outstanding officials and they laughed the loudest at the fans once we got to the locker room. I took it personally - they saw that crap every week.
When I look for someone to fill my crew (I have one opening in football if anyone is interested
) I don't care if the official is black, white, or any other color. I look for integrity and ability only. I would hope that everyone would be like that, but I've been around long enough to know that isn't the case everywhere.
--Rich