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Umpire Participation: Is Abuse Really the Issue?

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  • Pamm Kellett
  • David Shilbury

Abstract

Umpires (or referees) are essential for the ongoing production of organised sport. It has been widely argued that abuse of umpires by players, coaches, and spectators is ubiquitous and aversive, therefore engendering attrition. Cognitive behavioural theory specifies that attrition and continuation are best understood by identifying the ways that stimuli are interpreted. In this study, 22 umpires of professional and semi-professional Australian Rules football were interviewed to determine what they think of abusive behaviour, and what they find to be rewarding about umpiring. Findings showed that umpires routinely reframe abuse, considering it to be a normal part of their role. Abuse was not deemed to be particularly aversive, and there was no evidence that it contributes to attrition. On the other hand, umpires enjoyed the social world they share with other umpires, and identified social interactions among umpires as a key reason for continuing to umpire. This study highlights the important role that socialisation into the social world of umpiring plays in helping umpires to reframe abuse, and the importance of socialising with other umpires in maintaining their commitment to umpiring. It is suggested that the social rewards of umpiring should be stressed in umpire recruitment, and that the social world of umpiring should be incorporated into umpire training and retention.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamm Kellett & David Shilbury, 2007. "Umpire Participation: Is Abuse Really the Issue?," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 209-229, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:10:y:2007:i:3:p:209-229
    DOI: 10.1016/S1441-3523(07)70012-8
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Webb, Tom & Dicks, Matt & Thelwell, Richard & van der Kamp, John & Rix-Lievre, Géraldine, 2020. "An analysis of soccer referee experiences in France and the Netherlands: Abuse, conflict, and level of support," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 52-65.
    2. Timothy D. Ryan & Jason P. Sosa & Michael A. Thornton, 2014. "Influences of Training on Individual Outcomes for High School Sports Officials," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(2), pages 21582440145, April.
    3. Jacobs, Brittany L. & Tingle, Jacob K. & Oja, Brent D. & Smith, Mark A., 2020. "Exploring referee abuse through the lens of the collegiate rugby coach," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 39-51.
    4. Deal, Colin J. & Pankow, Kurtis & Chu, Theo A. & Pynn, Shannon R. & Smyth, Christine L. & Holt, Nicholas L., 2018. "A mixed methods analysis of disciplinary incidents in men’s soccer," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 72-85.
    5. Josefa Sánchez & Sara Serrat & Estefanía Castillo & Alberto Nuviala, 2021. "Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Validity of the Sexual Harassment Scale in Football Refereeing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-10, February.
    6. Cuskelly, Graham & Hoye, Russell, 2013. "Sports officials’ intention to continue," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 451-464.
    7. Thomas Giel & Christoph Breuer, 2020. "The determinants of the intention to continue voluntary football refereeing," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 242-255, April.

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