[BigT]

(Utah Referee talking about his brother who referees in Utah)

My heart aches today for the loss of a fellow official. Ricardo Portillo's family deserved better.

On a related issue, my brother was accosted at an AAU basketball game on Saturday by the site supervisor, who was upset that games were behind and he blamed the referees. As a result of the passing of a fellow official, and the marked uptake in violent behavior towards referees, my brother is composing what will be a very strongly worded letter for distribution to all press agencies in the state calling for increased protection of officials and openly condemning those in leadership positions who have sat by and let this escalate. We are asking that any official willing to join us in the campaign to protect officials in all sports, at all levels, and in all organizations in the state to please contact us. We are also looking for those willing to contribute to the content of the letter by way of sharing experiences they have had. We both realize this will not be popular. But neither of us can stand idly by any longer while officials are told to just have thick skins and to suck it up. It's not part of the game. Dying is not part of the game. If you feel this is important enough, would you please forward this to officials so that those that want to may contribute or sign the letter.
Thanks,