“Never having the right to make a mistake, I think that’s the hardest part of being an official”: Exploring young sport officials’ experiences of abuse and their related coping mechanisms

Abstract

Although officials form an integral part of the sporting world, they are likely to experience abuse during their involvement. Research on abuse toward sport officials has primarily been conducted with adults and elite-level officials. Very little is known about young officials whose experiences may be different yet crucial in developing preventative measures tailored to their specific needs and context. Our goal was to document experiences of abuse by young officials aged between 14 and 20 years old. A total of 27 participants completed interviews on the nature of the abuse they experienced, the resulting consequences, and how they coped with those experiences. The findings from the thematic analysis highlighted descriptions of frequent abuse, of lower intensity, and of a psychological nature such as being yelled at or insulted. Participants described using both short-term coping strategies during the event of abuse, such as giving a warning, as well as long-term strategies to make sense of their experience, such as rationalization. Our study adds to the current literature by underlining similarities of young officials’ experiences with those of adults, such as type and frequency of abuse, while also identifying relevant distinctions in terms of perceived organizational support and consequences. In sum, our results suggest that abuse toward officials is deeply ingrained in the sport context and not only at the professional level. This reinforces the need for increased recognition of young officials’ reality within a broader cultural shift delegitimizing abuse in all forms toward officials of all ages and levels. Lay summary: We interviewed 27 young sport officials, aged between 14 and 20 years old, to document their experience of abuse. The results highlight both similarities with adult officials and important differences. More attention should be given to the reality of young officials operating at the grassroots level.