Give Young Referees a Break

To the editor:

I recently witnessed something in our town that I won't soon forget.

I watched as two grown men in their 30s and 40s bullied a 15-year-old boy while he was at work. For more than an hour, the men were frantically yelling and hollering, waving their arms, calling the boy dumb, and when all of that didn't work they resorted to glaring menacingly at the kid.

When the boy's shift was over, I watched him leave his work area, change out of his uniform and go home. This place is off limits to the general public, but I watched as one of these men aggressively barged right into this changing area and continued to yell at and berate the boy until the boy and his co-workers asked the man to leave.

After this man left, I watched as he went over to his friend (a prominent business owner in our area) and a woman who had joined them. The two men and woman told each other how justified they felt to confront this kid, patting each other on the back and planning their next moves. Big men. Big, brave men trying unsuccessfully to intimidate a 15-year-old kid.

You might be wondering why I would continue to watch this unfold instead of stepping in to help the boy. I am happy to say he showed a lot of maturity and was managing very well without help. He continued with his job and ignored the bullies just like they teach in elementary school. The boy never raised his voice and never used any name calling, but continued with his duties, even when he had to go past the area where the men stood. I couldn't help but feel sorry for these adults who are so powerless they can only find strength in attempting to intimidate the boy.

You might also be wondering what would provoke two mature individuals into this type of an arm-flinging, name calling rage at the boy. Was the kid rude? Stealing? Being verbally or physically abusive? Lazy? And where did this happen? McDonalds? Sobeys?

The boy was reffing a hockey game. He had removed a player from the game for unsafely checking an opposing player from behind. A well-known penalty for being dangerous that is not tolerated. Apparently the men had a problem with the ref's decision.

These two men were the coaches of the player's team. Leaders of elementary-schoolaged children. These people who are placed into a leadership role during our children's formative years are having a temper tantrum equal to that of a two-yearold at Wal-Mart who can't have a treat.

Did you know that Lloydminster Minor Hockey has a difficult time finding kids who are willing to ref hockey games?

If we witnessed a kid being abused like this while working at McDonald's or anywhere else we would not stand for it. I am sure it would take less than an hour before more mature people would say, "hey buddy - cool it!"

Give Young Referees a Break