A shortage of referees has long been brewing in minor league sports across North America. Youth sports has suffered the most from this shortage, and some leagues have had to constrict age groups because of their lack of referees. Within the sports world, many attribute this shortage to an increase in abuse of officials over the last decade.
Some leagues in Canada and the United States have begun demarcating officials' uniforms to indicate they are a minor. While this seems like a significant precaution, it has arguably led to an increase of abuse to older officials, which can lead to incidents boiling over far beyond what is acceptable dialogue and treatments of referees.
Recently, a video posted by HockeyTrend on Instagram shows a referee fleeing to lock himself in a dressing room while barricading the door. Banging can be heard behind the door as the referee waits for help.
As the sport of hockey faces a shortage of officials, this kind of abhorrent treatment towards them will only lead to less people willing to become referees. Ultimately, this is going to create a gap, where well-trained officials will be replaced with anyone who is willing to referee, and will undoubtedly lead to more issues. Abuse of officials has become a massive problem across North America, and needs to end urgently before no one is willing to officiate minor league games.
