Appreciating officials in Maine
Officials waiting for the game to start at PVHS. Photo by Emily Bontatibus
Basketball involves many factors. Players, rules, coaches, parents and publicity surround the sport.
But, one of the most crucial pillars of basketball that is commonly overlooked are the referees.
Throughout the season I interviewed a handful of officials across the state of Maine to expose the hardships and gifts of being a basketball referee.
Favorite parts of the game
“This gets us through the winter, we’re not going to bed at 6:30, we’re out there getting involved,” stated Brian Clark.
Clark has been an active member of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials for 36 years, and has discovered many reasons why he loves what he does. One of those factors is the comradery.
Refs are assigned randomly to games during the season by the board. It can span from co-ed middle school games to boys high school games hours away from each other. Luckily, they can rely on each other to enjoy their assignment on any given day.
While the ref community is certainly tight knit, the main reason they’re enforcing basketball rules is simple.
Nick Raymond, a superintendent and referee of 24 years, believes he has the power to make amazing memories for young-athletes.
“We’re just out enjoying the game and making it feel like it’s the biggest game of their lives,” Raymond expressed.
Being already involved in students' lives, he mentioned how special it is to be an extension of the classroom. Sort of continuing kids’ learning outside of the classroom in other valuable situations.
Though, the prize of seeing his friends every season while working is not lost. In fact, many of the referees are familiar with each other due to required classes.
Coincidentally, Jeremy Weatherbee, another official of 24 years and athletic director, is frequently paired up with Raymond- whom he participated in referee courses with at the University of Maine his Freshman year.
But, friendships aren’t the only type of relationships floating around the referee world. Weatherbee mentioned that his brother and father are also officials on the IAABO.
Challenges of a referee
The demand of a ref is anything but menial.
In the peak times of basketball season it is common to be assigned to work six days a week. Those games will range in level, class and gender.
Emil Genest, a school administrator and official of 19 years, has an interesting take on his job. Oftentimes he will place himself in someone else's shoes, whether that be a fan nagging him in the crowd, a player having a rough game or a coach that is upset about a call.
“We have the tools to do what we can do,” he stated, emphasizing that one can never truly understand what someone else is going through.
But, that statement can go the other way too.
“We’re humans. Maybe I did make that mistake and maybe you saw it better than I did,” stated Clark. “But, we’re doing everything we can.”
Ref preparing for the game. Photo by Emily Bontatibus
During games it is easy to dismiss referees as robots. However, they are constantly thinking about how they can all work together to keep the set precedent of a game's rules.
Throughout every interview a key point was made that refs are taught a handbook of rules in the sport of basketball. Yet, they also have the moral responsibility to make matches enjoyable and beneficial for everyone. That can sometimes mean “loosening” rules for the good of the game.
The truth
As an athlete, I cannot name one time when a ref's feelings have been considered. Yet, I can point to several times they have been dehumanized by coaches, teammates, parents and myself.
There is a negative image painted of officials where they are out for vengeance. That their sole meaning of reffing is to allow one team to win and one team to lose while vexing players throughout the season.
That’s certainly not the case.
“We’re all in this together, we all want what’s best for the kids that are on the teams and playing that night,” stated Weatherbee. “We don’t care if it’s a B team middle school game or a class AA varsity game, we want to make it the best experience possible.”
It is normal for fans, coaches and players to not obtain the knowledge of the rules of basketball as the refs do. After all, there are no required courses.
So, why is there a lack of respect for officials?
Graph of respondents answers to an officials survey. Photo courtesy of NASO
According to this study conducted by the National Association of Sports Officials in 2023, 73% of basketball officials indicated that sportsmanship is declining, while only 9% said it was improving.
Furthermore, the same study highlighted at what level sportsmanship in basketball was the worst. 54% of respondents said that youth-competitive leagues held the worst sportsmanship, like AAU, club and travel teams. High school was runner up with 16%.
Obviously, something needs to change.
“A lack of sportsmanship is one of the biggest reasons young officials elect not to come back to officiating,” stated Mark Bridgham, a retired police officer and referee of 44 years.
Referees have to simultaneously block out negative comments from coaches, fans and players during games and somehow focus their attention on creating a meaningful atmosphere for young-athletes.
Many factors are making it challenging for officials to complete their job. Yet, they stick around and sift through the cynicism because the adventure of reffing far outweighs the price.
Push for female refs
It is difficult being a referee in general, but, imagine how much harder it is to be a female in the field.
94% of officials in the US are male, the rest are female, according to this NASO survey conducted in 2023. While in Maine, only 7% of the referees on the IAABO are female.
Women already face adversity in the workplace through unequal pay and lack of opportunities. Fortunately, one female referee has a positive outlook on the situation.
Martina Graffam moved to the US from Bulgaria where she was a professional basketball player from the age of 14. She has worked her way through the ranks of officiating from middle school all the ways to Division II.
Martina Graffam reporting to the scorers table. Photo by Emily Bontatibus
“They’re not used to seeing females [as refs], and I don’t blame them. It’s something that to an extent they’re scared of, because they haven’t seen it,” she stated.
Graffam aims to pave the way for future female-sports enthusiasts by educating coaches, fans and players on how to behave around female refs. Rarely does she pass up an opportunity to respectfully show that officials’ gender does not matter.
There is currently only a handful of females on the Eastern Maine board for IAABO , Graffam is one of them with the goal to make officiating more female-friendly.
“Males don’t have the problem of being a mother and also being the person who makes a family a whole family and a house a home,” she said. “So, they don’t have those responsibilities.”
Graffam decided to have her child in Bulgaria causing her to miss a required meeting to ref for the upcoming high school season. She was not eligible to be an official last year because of her duties as a mother.
Luckily, Graffam has faced little to no discrimination as a female referee in Maine, which only encourages her to climb the ladder of officiating. She has no set destination in mind as a referee. Mentioning that officiating at the Olympics does not feel beyond her reach.
Future of officiating
In Maine, the average age of referees is 47. They bring experience and enthusiasm in teaching the next generation of players. Yet, even they understand that the future lies in the youth.
Flier for Junior IAABO courses with a QR code. Visual courtesy of TJ Halliday
Junior IAABO is a course where kids who want to get into officiating have the opportunity to complete modules at ease so one can fully understand the rules of basketball.
Furthermore, TJ Halliday, the coordinator of basketball officials, is encouraging anyone to join the fruitful world of reffing.
