Long Island high schools have lost hundreds of umpires and referees since 2012, according to a report that looked into county participation data. Reports of verbal abuse from the sidelines could be to blame.
Suffolk County schools lost about 25 officials every year for the last seven years and Nassau lost 43 per year, according to the report by Newsday.
Todd Nelson, assistant director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, says officials sustain verbal abuse from coaches and parents more than ever before.
“The verbal abuse that officials have to take from coaches, from students, from particularly spectators, I think that definitely has an effect on officials deciding whether to officiate or leaving the profession altogether.”
Baseball and basketball have seen the largest decline in officials overall.
