Do Unto Refs As You Would Have Them Do Unto You

It's amazing how some inappropriate behavior that would not be tolerated in "real life" is somehow considered normal and acceptable in the world of sports. Consider this example:

Imagine going to work every day and having a stranger watch your every move. This person has no responsibility for evaluating your job performance. They are not your boss or a co-worker--this person is a total stranger. But every day when you go to work this anonymous person is there watching you. Every time you make a mistake--or every time they think you made a mistake--this person begins screaming at you.

"Come on, cashier! You gave that guy the sale price, why don't you give it to her! Be consistent!"

"It's about time you noticed that error, accountant! Decimal points, for crying out loud!"

"Weeds, landscaper, weeds! Do you even know what they look like?! Come on, get some glasses!"

What would you do if this happened to you at your work place? Most likely you wouldn't stand for it. You would make sure this person was escorted off the premises, possibly in the company of law enforcement authorities.

Yet if your job is officiating sports, this happens to you every time you go to work. There is always an anonymous stranger (often more than one) with no responsibility to evaluate you, who screams criticism at you with impunity. And it's considered a normal part of your work environment (though it would not be tolerated anywhere else.)

I'm working to promote a new holiday, along the lines of "Take Your Child To Work Day." It's called "Let A Sports Official Scream At You At Your Work Day." It goes like this: Any sports official who has ever had someone loudly and publicly critique their job performance gets to go to the work place of anyone who has ever done this and do the same to them

I'm not getting very far with this campaign. It seems that no one wants this to happen to them. (Hmm.) "Let A Sports Official Scream At You At Your Work Day" is a ridiculous idea--just as ridiculous as someone screaming criticism at officials from the stands.

Love your neighbor as yourself--always. We need to resist the temptation to leave our faith at the turnstile when we attend a sporting event, as if this is somehow not part of our "faith life." We live every moment as children of God--interacting with other children of God--and we have to work on making every moment of our lives reflect this this beautiful fact.