Commentary

Green: Who cares whether the ref is a white male?

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By Martin Green 

In an article in the News & Citizen, 12/4/25, Lauren Young, executive director of activities at the Vermont Principals Association (VPA), recently commented on the shortage of referees for high school athletics in Vermont:

“As the VPA ramps up their recruitment efforts, Young wants to see a more accurate representation of Vermont’s student body with whistles — particularly through more women and people of color becoming certified to officiate.

‘We have diverse schools, and I think there’s power in seeing people in a position of authority in the game that are reflective of what they look like to try to dispel some of the older white male dominance over the officiating world,’ she said.”

At the risk of being grossly misunderstood and even wrongly labeled as a racist, I am responding to this article because some of Young’s suppositions seem to be flawed on several levels and ought not go unchallenged.

Frankly, who cares what the age, sex, or color of a referee’s skin is, and why in the world would it even matter? 

Do athletes really derive their power by having referees who are “reflective of what they look like?”

Shouldn’t the qualifications for a referee be based on merit and his or her ability to do the job with skill, excellence, and integrity, instead of an artificially imposed quota of arbitrary external characteristics?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that we ought to be judged not on the basis of the color of our skin—some arbitrary external characteristic which ostensibly defines us—but on the content of our character.

By prejudicially using the phrase, “older white male dominance,” Young has, with broad brush, condemned males, older males, and white males.

Why is Young using the word “dominance” as if to imply some sort of oppressor/oppressed scenario? Does she honestly believe that older white male referees have intentionally tried to exert dominance over athletes? Do not these kind of phrases foment racist tropes where none exist? 

I’m not apologizing for being older, white, or male. I have zero choice about any of these characteristics. And where there is neither a choice nor an issue, why invent one out of some imposed and artificial sense of guilt? 

Especially in this season as we reflect upon and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, why continue to promote false narratives which demean and divide? Instead, let’s remember the incomparably beautiful love story of the Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to heal and redeem our brokenness and restore us to the God in whose image we are all created.

The author is a Morrisville resident. 

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Categories: Commentary, Race and Division, Sports

12 replies »

  1. Bravo, Martin. Rev. King spoke the truth. It seems he’s gone out of fashion.

    • Lauren Young says they need more referees. And then she said that she wants to dispel some of the white male dominance over the officiating world. Really? I do believe that is against the law. If she is making hiring decisions based on race isn’t that against the law? How about this. There are too many black people playing basketball so they will need to make the teams reflect the population more accurately. Does that sound like a racist thing to say? YES! So how is what Lauren Young said not racist? Please tell me!

  3. You were doing so well until that last sentence.

    Eddie Garcia, St. J

  4. Meritocracy in “competitive sports”? How radical man… It’s sad we should even have to discuss this. How about parents stepping up as volunteers in the leagues their kids depend on? Do you value this aspect of education or not parents?
    Just don’t expect my taxes to pay for referees when our schools are failing us academically these days. Put the money into education not sports.

    • In the world of the left, everyone gets a trophy and a diploma, regardless of performance.

  5. The long, tired, leftist obsession with “having someone who looks like them” drags on and on…

    • If the valve of our content (integrity) is the benchmark, what is the purpose of setting up racial divides that have absolutely nothing to do with character ? As many still linger in the world of DEI where all black people are still oppressed, and all white people are privileged, we never evolve past a racial divide. There is no unity in that, and also breaks down the original intent of our Creator and God. The phrase, “all men are created equal” from documents written by our Founding Father’s actually develop the ideas of the Bible. In this world of evil, we will always have bigotry. That however doesn’t determine who we are. So putting Black Lives Matter, and DEI behind us let us move forward, content on being human, divided only by male / female. No place is scripture does it declare God made White people, Black people, Brown people, etc. No place in scripture does it declare Black people are less than White people. It is not there because that is NOT how God sees things. The best thing we all can do is to avoid every idea that separates people based on the color of their skin. It is the content of your character that truly matters.

  7. By prejudicially using the phrase, “older white male dominance,” Young has, with broad brush, condemned males, older males, and white males.-

    So I have been condemned! So be it! I still serve my country at 57 and will outwork anyone half my age. I guarantee it.

    • I am betting that if you worked in a deli and someone asked for 2/3 of a pound of provolone, you would not deliver a blank stare but would know how to convert that on a digital scale. Try that with someone under 30…