This was sent to me by a longtime TASO official who wishes to remain anonymous. I have edited to clean it up a little, (which the author approved) and we want to publicly share this. (Author did not want to share due to high likelihood of retaliation; I am comfortable in attaching my name because I want to be a public voice for officials, particularly those who for whatever their reasons are not comfortable in being publicly identified.) I will say, I have mad, mad respect for this individual and the time and effort they put into shaping their thoughts in such a powerful way.
I say WE want to share, because I stand 100% behind what the author has to say. And I mean, 100%.
Will anything come of it? Will TASO or UIL even acknowledge it? Probably not. But our hope is that this becomes the basis for a much larger, much-needed conversation around some of the residual core problems that officials face, that neither TASO nor the UIL will acknowledge or work towards finding solutions for.
Posting on FB and refstripes for discussion and visibility.
******************************************************
These are just my thoughts, and honestly, something I’ll probably never publish publicly for fear of retaliation. But after watching what happened in the Gunter–Henrietta game, I can’t keep this to myself.
I saw the clip of the Referee from the Tyler Chapter: the demonstrative flag toss, the hat throw, the shoe throw, the crying-face gesture toward the sideline. There’s no defending that. It was wrong. It was unprofessional. It does not represent who we are.
According to the UIL Sportsmanship Manual, officials are expected to “never exhibit emotions or argue with participants or coaches” and must “maintain confidence and poise, controlling the contest from start to finish.” This incident clearly violated that standard, and acknowledging that is part of being honest about what happened.
But here’s the part nobody outside of officiating seems willing to talk about: What happened on that field didn’t come out of nowhere. It came from pressure, exhaustion, hostility, and a culture that has normalized attacking officials while demanding perfection from them. For years, we have worked tirelessly to build the reputation of Texas officials as a non-partisan, disciplined, committed group. The Texas Way was supposed to help: an initiative to raise the bar for everyone - coaches, players, fans, and officials. It was a chance for us all to reset and step forward with moral character and mutual respect.
UIL has clearly stated that sportsmanship is intended to promote fair play, ethical behavior, and integrity, and that responsible behavior from participants, coaches, fans, cheerleaders, and others is the overall goal.
That responsibility is shared, not placed solely on officials.
Unfortunately, this incident, along with the social-media meltdown over the Boerne Champion vs. PSJA North incomplete-pass controversy, has unraveled so much of that progress in a matter of days. The public perception of officials, something we’ve fought to improve for years, has taken a direct hit.
What people don’t understand (and frankly, what many don’t care to understand) is the level of commitment we pour into this avocation:
• The financial cost of constantly having to leave work early to travel to games, often multiple days per week.
• The time and cost to attend clinics during the offseason.
• Reviewing the game films every week, to find mistakes and ways to improve.
• The mechanics we practice endlessly.
• The conditioning we maintain.
• The crew-building we invest in so we can work as one.
The manual emphasizes that officials must “know the rules thoroughly,” “accept their role in an unassuming manner,” and “take pride in their work.” It also notes the need for confidence, poise, and consistency throughout contests. These expectations require enormous preparation that the average spectator simply doesn’t see.
Most fans have no clue that many of us worked 45–60 games this season alone, from junior high through varsity. Most don’t realize officials often drove 100+ miles for sub-varsity assignments that pay around $70, or that we’re constantly dealing with last-minute schedule changes schools never tell us about. They don’t see officials having to juggle work and family priorities and constantly ask their employers to leave work early so a middle-school game starts on time. They don’t see chapters scrambling when schools fail to follow proper scheduling protocols or notify officials of changes or cancellations. They don’t see that many varsity games are still being played without districts paying officials the fair and agreed-upon amount owed through gate receipts, season tickets, and other revenue streams, a financial responsibility that has been ignored by some districts for years.
UIL’s Open Letter to the Fan specifically warns that spectators often believe their ticket entitles them to berate players and officials, but the manual states clearly:
“Your ticket is a privilege to observe the contest, not a license to verbally assault others.” It also reminds fans that officials are trained professionals whose judgment must be respected. That expectation is not optional — it is part of UIL’s published behavioral code.
And perhaps the most alarming piece: almost no one realizes that the average age of an official in Texas is now in the upper 50s, and the pipeline of new officials is shrinking. We are not just facing a shortage; we are approaching a collapse.
So yes, what that official did was wrong. TASO and the UIL are investigating, and I have no doubt the official, if not the entire crew, will face consequences. That’s part of accountability. We accept that.
But here’s the question nobody seems willing to ask:
When is everyone else going to be held accountable, too?
It’s always open season on officials.
It’s always acceptable to yell at us, curse at us, threaten us.
It’s always viewed as “part of the game.”
But the minute an official loses their composure - at the breaking point of a job nobody else wants -the outrage becomes absolute. Suddenly, the entire world wants blood.
Let’s be honest: Coaches, players, parents, and fans face almost no real consequences for their behavior. I have personally had to throw flags on coaches screaming at rookies during sub-varsity weeknight games. I’ve seen young officials get verbally shredded the moment they step onto a varsity field, treated like targets instead of people. UIL’s Code of Conduct for Coaches requires coaches to “Refrain from arguments with officials”, “Show respect for officials”, and “Set a good example for players and spectators.” UIL’s student-athlete code requires them to “Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials” and “Not engage in disrespectful conduct.” These rules exist — but are rarely enforced compared to sanctions placed on officials.
No wonder we can’t keep anybody.
No wonder chapters are shrinking.
No wonder the average age is climbing.
Officials are expected to operate under perfect emotional control while others are allowed to act with impunity, and when something goes wrong, the blame is immediate and one dimensional.
Here’s the reality that needs to be said.
We are human.
We bleed.
We sweat.
We get tired.
We get overwhelmed.
We get pushed past our limits by people who have no idea what those limits look like, nor do they care.
UIL emphasizes that sports environments must be “physically and emotionally safe” for everyone involved, including officials. That responsibility applies to coaches, administrators, and fans, not just the officiating crew. The football world loves to pretend we’re robots: immune to abuse, immune to pressure, immune to the nonstop hostility we face every week. But we’re not.
We are fathers, mothers, veterans, teachers, police officers, EMTs, engineers, laborers - people who give up time with our families, people who leave work early, people who sacrifice weekends for the love of this game.
And sometimes (rarely, but sometimes), someone reaches a breaking point.
That doesn’t excuse what happened.
But it explains how a moment like that can occur in today’s climate.
Officials are not robots.
We do not have infinite patience.
We do not have infinite emotional bandwidth.
We are not punching bags.
When every game feels like a battlefield of hostility…
When every close call becomes a viral moment…
When every mistake becomes a statewide indictment…
When every official is compared to the worst clip on the internet…
Something in the system is going to break. And if the only response is “punish the official harder,” then the message is clear:
Officials are held to a higher standard than everyone else, but valued less than anyone else.
If The Texas Way is going to mean anything…
Then accountability needs to apply to everyone: Coaches who scream inches from our faces. Players who act with open disrespect. Fans who threaten officials in parking lots. School districts who refuse to compensate officials fairly. Administrators who look the other way. UIL policy is clear: administrators and school boards must “develop and enforce sportsmanship policies,” “actively discourage undesirable conduct,” and “serve as positive role models.”
This is not happening — and officials can’t do this on our own.
Right now, The Texas Way feels like a guideline applied only to officials, not a standard upheld across the board.
If we truly want the game to improve, then we need enforceable expectations for coaches, players, and fans, not just the men and women in stripes.
Burnout is real, yet no one is talking about it.
Officials aren’t just leaving because of pay.
They’re leaving because of how they are treated.
They’re leaving because they’re tired of being screamed at by adults half their age.
They’re leaving because they’re tired of being publicly shamed for doing an impossible job perfectly only 99% of the time.
They’re leaving because schools and fans treat them as disposable, not essential.
Officials are burning out: mentally, emotionally, physically. And this incident is a symptom of that deeper reality.
Here’s what needs to change.
End the practice of allowing coaches to select officials for their games. Coaches selecting crews create opportunities for favoritism and unconscious bias, simply because officials don’t want to risk being ‘scratched’ or not picked for future games from that coach. I personally have had a multiple championship-winning coach tell me that if I made a particular call again, that did not not like – I would not get any playoff assignments for his team. It creates incentives and biases that shouldn’t exist at any level and undermines the integrity of what we’re supposed to represent.
Actively enforce UIL’s existing sportsmanship expectations for coaches, players, and spectators. Officials cannot effectively officiate the game on the field, while the toxic environment on the sidelines and stands continues unabated. If TASO, UIL, and game administrators are not going to step up and meet their obligations as outlined in the Sportsmanship Manual, then officials need better tools to manage sportsmanship in general, without fear of retribution or harming potential scheduling opportunities.
TASO must stop being a passive entity and provide more public support for officials. TASO appears to be stuck in a reactive posture, instead of leading from the front. The silence, the lack of transparency, the refusal to advocate for changes to systemic issues… it leaves the officials on the field taking the heat, even when we’re the ones holding the games together, week after week. TASO must become the organization they’re meant to be: the public voice of officials, our advocate, not just a mouthpiece who says what everyone else wants to hear to not rock the boat.
Creating a safer environment for rookies and younger officials. TASO, UIL, and coaches all have a role in enabling the growth of young officials. The ‘Three Strikes’ policy clearly isn’t working, because officials are hesitant to file reports due to the implicit threat of being scratched. Give us tools we can use that can modify behavior immediately, before we lose even more officials to verbal abuse from coaches and players.
Establishing a zero-tolerance policy for verbal abuse from adults. Game administrators needs to be more than a checkbox, they need to step up and actively monitor what is going on. That’s part of the administrator’s role: to feel the pulse of the spectators, to be our eyes and ears in the stands, and to de-escalate and control things before they even reach us. To be sure, there are some game administrators who do a good, if not great, job in the regard… but they are the minority. Officials can't enforce a zero-tolerance policy on their own, especially when coaches control assignments.
Final Thoughts
Texas high school football cannot function without officials. It cannot. The stadium lights do not turn on without us. The games do not kick off without us.
There is no Friday Night Lights without the men and women willing to step onto that field.
And yet we keep losing more and more officials. Seasoned officials, who are simply tired of the abuse and lack of public support from the organizations that are supposed to advocate for and protect them. Young officials, who believe that the abuse and rancor directed at them nonstop is normal, and the way it will always be.
The Texas Way was meant to be a fresh start.
But right now, it’s a one-way street: all accountability on officials, none on the others.
It’s time for everyone (coaches, players, fans, administrators, UIL, and TASO) to take a deep breath and remember that mistakes will be made, and they can be addressed constructively through each chapter without destroying people’s careers or dignity.
If we want to protect the game we all love, we must protect the people who make the game possible.
Because without officials, Texas high school football stops.
And we’re edging dangerously close to that line.
