A majority of Nebraska sports officials quit due to poor sportsmanship, survey finds

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska is facing a shortage of sports officials, and experts say the turnover rate has gotten higher.

The Nebraska Schools Activities Association found that about 80% of sports officials quit within their first three years due to poor sportsmanship, according to a 2022 survey.

Nate Neuhaus, the NSAA’s supervisor of officials, said the scarcity of referees means they don’t have the luxury of getting much practice before being thrust into varsity games.

“Harsh reality is they’re not very good yet; they’re learning,” he said. “And they get run off because of a negative experience or something of that nature. Or they get put in a game that was overwhelming to them.”

Ray Manske, who officiates baseball and basketball games, said he’s been doing the job since he was 15 years old.

He said he enjoys training younger officials, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

“They’re just not battle-tested enough, and you have to develop some very tough skin,” he said. “Learn what to address, what not to, what to ignore.”

Manske said the last thing he wants to do is eject spectators, coaches or players from the game, but the environment around sporting events can get emotional.

He said judging close plays puts a lot of pressure on an official to make the right call.

“Out of the 100% of people that are there, you’re going to make 50% of them happy,” he said.

Neuhaus said the NSAA is trying to incentivize and retain officials, but the lack of help has started to have an effect.

“If you don’t have enough officials, you lose contests,” he said. “You don’t play the games. Or like in football, instead of playing on Friday night, you play on Thursday night. That’s not ideal. If we had more officials, we could play all our games on Friday nights.”

Neuhaus said it takes everyone working together to make the game enjoyable.

Manske added that adults should be a positive role model for the kids by showing respect no matter the outcome of the game.

“To me, the ultimate compliment is when you get a compliment from the losing team,” he said.