[Dan_ref]

Seriously Folks,

The parents where I live have gotten to the point where it's really, really bad. Is there anything an official can do about it or do we just have to learn to tolerate it?

I know parents are people too, and it's a tough job, and they aint getting paid. We officials are working for maybe $10, 20 or in some areas a whopping $30 to $40 per summer game. This past AAU season, it just seemed like the parenting was worse than ever. So far, summer league has been no better.

I'll never forget the game where the parents on the endlines screamed their fool heads off for fouls in the first half, then in the second half scream even louder when you call a foul. Is it too much to ask these parents to expect games be called fairly and not expect every single call to go their way?

One of my main pet peeves is the parent who screams at his teenaged kid that he wasn't being aggressive enough. "Knock him on his azz! Show him what you're made of!!" Then there's the parents that ridicule a teenager because he blew an easy layup, or missed everything on a free throw. I know they're only having fun, but, I mean, come on, try at least to have SOME perpective.

Maybe it's not as wide spread everywhere as it is in my area, but it sure is bad here. Is it because we're not adequately policing and evaluating parents?

What can officials do about it? What is the right approach?