Heightism in Officiating

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by canadaump6

I do believe that height and appearance of age are related to each other, to a certain point. Being shorter can make you look younger if you aren't that old to begin with. For older umpires, height doesn't usually have that much of an influence on how old one looks. But even for older umpires, being short can make them seem easier to intimidate, and when a coach believes he can intimidate that is where the problems start. Furthermore, assignors and umpire in chiefs realize this, and will be much more hesitant to assign an umpire who is either short, or looks young, to higher level games.

I enjoyed a Single A Minor League game last night in which the BU was 21 and 5'10 and the PU was 18 and 5'9. They had no problems managing the game or controlling 6'4" players and 40 year old managers.

The difference between them and you is that they are trained, they know the rules and mechanics, the present a professional appearance and work with confidence.

My son and I met up with them in their dressing room after the game and not once did either of them whine about their height or age.