Pat Burns on Why Fewer People Want to Officiate Youth Sports Amid Rising Abuse from Parents

The Marc Cox Morning Show · Jul 17, 2026 · 7m

Pat Burns of PSB Officiating Services, who assigns referees and umpires to about 95 area schools, joins the show to explain a shortage hitting youth sports across the board. Burns says the average high school official is now in his early 50s, with too few young people stepping in to replace them, even as leagues like Parkway Rockwood host over 500 youth basketball games on a single Saturday. He shares harrowing stories, from a parent shoving a referee decades ago to being spit on by a player, and argues today's abuse isn't necessarily worse, just more visible thanks to social media amplifying…