I disagree with the idea that a referee can and should do nothing. This is not the NCAA, it is a youth league. I would start with the directors of the league to find out if they have any standards of conduct they expect. There should also be a gym supervisor that is responsible for fan conduct. Their responsiblities can range from making sure they don't have food and drinks in the bleachers ( a rule at our school) to ensuring that fans have appropriate behavior at games. In our youth league this year (county sponsored), a parent was ejected for inappropriate conduct at a 5th grade girls game. In another contest, we got a second chance at free throw when a parent attempted to distract the shooter on technical free throws -= and the parent was told to shut up. While there is no rule against this (she was in the stands) in NF, the context of a youth rec league makes this behavior inappropriate. We have young children who are just being introduced to sports, and this should not be part of that introduction.
At AAU games, that type of behavior will not be stopped, but excessive vociferous dissent with referees should be stopped. Every high school in our county has signs warning specatators about appropriate behavior in a learning environment. I would love to see the most vocal ref baiters in youth sports silenced, and it is up to all of us to make that happen. My players' parents know that I will not tolerate that type of behavior, and their kid will sit if they lose control. But only my league administrators and refs on the floor can control the other teams. Most of my experiences have been very positive, but every league has at least one idiot coach and a bunch of idiot parents who don't get the point of youth sports.
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