Locally, statewide, and nationally parent/spectator behavior at high school, middle school, and youth sports events is growing more boorish, which is the main reason all sports are having problems recruiting and retaining officials.
On Friday, February 7th, on a cold evening in Dos Palos, the varsity girls soccer teams from Firebaugh High and Dos Palos High squared off on the pitch in a West Sierra League match.
Behind the strong play of Alyssa Martinez and Nataly Ruiz, Firebaugh held a commanding 3-0 lead midway through the second half.
The referee, working by himself, called a foul on Firebaugh and awarded a Bronco player a penalty kick.
That’s when things deteriorated—quickly.
Before placing the ball down for the kick, the referee gestured to the Firebaugh sideline. The players from both teams on the field stood still, wondering why play was being delayed. He then directed a pair of Firebaugh players to go over to their sideline and deliver the bad news—the referee ordered all Firebaugh spectators, between 20 and 30 in number, to leave the stadium.
As the ejected spectators slowly but methodically exited the stadium, the referee and the girls then continued the match with the Eagles taking the dominating victory.
What led up to the mass expulsion is still in question. Some witnesses said the Firebaugh fans were not only barking about the officiating, but also making unsportsmanlike comments about some of the Dos Palos players.
Both Firebaugh High principal Mason Rodman and Firebaugh/Las Deltas School District superintendent Roy Mendiola were contacted by The Express for comment on the incident. Rodman said that he would investigate the incident but has not responded further.
Ryan Tos, the commissioner of the Central Section of the California Interscholastic Federation, agreed that bad behavior by spectators continues to be a local and national problem.
“The behavior of unruly fans has directly impacted officials and has contributed to a nationwide shortage of sports officials,” Tos told The Express.
He added that the behavior of adults/spectators/coaches is something that is talked about each August at the CIF’s annual meetings with all member schools.
The state CIF is being proactive about the matter with a proposal that Tos says will increase the length of suspensions when a spectator is ejected or removed from a contest.
The proposal states that if a spectator is ejected from a contest, it will be the school’s responsibility to ensure that person does not attend that team’s next three contests. If the same spectator is ejected a second time, it will be the responsibility of the school to ensure that person does not attend any of the remaining contests for that season.
The proposal will be voted on at an upcoming meeting in April in anticipation of the 2025-26 school year.
