If you ever see him referee you'd see how great he is at it and how much he truly enjoys it. I've only seen a few of his games..I don't usually get into watching basketball. My mother won't go at all. She hates when fans make comments about referees and with her temper she just knows she would just go off on them and cause a world of trouble. It always amazed me how my father has always kept his cool at these games. He always says "You can't pay attention to them..you just let them go in one ear and out the other or roll off your back." I actually kinda admired that about him. That he could go and do sometimes 5-6 games in one day and not be bothered one bit by a comment.

That all changed last night.

My father retired a few years ago and ever since he has made refereeing his full time job. It's not even a job really for him. He used to just do it part time at night after work. Anyways...since this has become full time for him and basketball season only lasts so long he's had to take on other kinds of refereeing. Such as for volleyball, baseball (umpiring) and football. He enjoys them all very much but not as much as basketball.

Well last night he was refereeing a bunch of kids. None of them older than 12. The coaches were making comments about the umpiring, then the parents started, then the fans, and then finally the kids. Now as I've said before they never bother my father before. If it gets out of hand my father has the right to call the game. End it right then and there without having to give so much as a reason. He has done it before...not to the games where kids are playing but he's done it numerous times.

Well last night things were getting out of hand. And instead of practicing his speech about ignoring the comments he let them get to him. A kid was up to bat..9th inning, 2 outs, 2 strikes. The pitch was thrown and my father intentionally made a bad call just to end the game. He didn't tell anyone he was doing this for that reason. The ball by my own father's definition was "wild" and was nowhere near being a strike. My father admitted to my mother and me last night that he did it just to end the game. Well people were mad as hell. One of the parents confronted my father in the parking lot and after talking to her for about 2 seconds he said "I won't talk about this with you woman." and walked away from her..to which she responded with "Yeah I'd walk away too."

Not only did he intentionally call a ball a strike, he just said "Strike 3, let's go home." and walked off the field without a single word being said. Also he told my mother and me that all thru the evening he kept widening the strike zone in the middle of the game. Why?? Because they wanted to encourage the kids to swing at the bat so they were forcing them to either swing or take a guranteed strike. Does that seem fair?!?! That he would just increase the strike zone in the middle of the game like that??

My father's excuse is that the players and coaches make comments you have the right to just end the game. Well in my opinion that's what he should have done!! Doing it the way he did I think was wrong and mean to do to the kids. This kid's record will be effected by this and he wasn't the only one doing it. Why make one kid suffer and not the rest?? And come on these are kids..keep them in line yes but come on.

Am I wrong to feel this way?? I think if he wanted to just end the game and leave (which is what he admits he did and is NOT sorry for it at all) he should have just ended it. He shouldn't have made a bad call he knew was wrong just to end the game and leave. I think that makes him look bad and he could be reported for it. He says he'll talk to the head guy about it and explain his side and he's sure it will all work out. Well...maybe I'm being a bad daughter but I don't think he should be so calm and not caring about it. I think what he did was extremely wrong and unfair.

Am I overreacting??

He's refusing to talk about it anymore and my mother won't talk about it either. Anytime I bring it up I get bitched at. He says he doesn't want to ever talk about it again. However my mother has said she thinks he was wrong to do what he did. Hell I'm wondering what's worse, the fact that he did it or that he can freely admit it to and not feel one bit of remorse for it.

It shocks me that he would do this. This is so out of character for him.