Female Sports Officials and Mental Health: The Overlooked Problem

Abstract

Sporting culture often celebrates mental toughness and chides weakness, which can stigmatize mental health issues. While some sport organizations have prioritized addressing mental well-being, referees have been ignored. Referees work in high-pressure environments; thus, the need to understand, destigmatize, and normalize the conversation around mental health within the referee community and the larger sporting system is important. Because the prevalence of stress-related issues is greater for women, this study focused on female referees’ well-being, interviewing 20 female U.S. basketball referees via a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Participants represented various geographical regions in the United States and officiated at levels ranging from high school to professional. Findings revealed Gendered Aggressions negatively impacted the referees, mental health issues are Stigmatized, and more Resources and Support are needed. Results also indicated that officiating can be Cathartic. Suggestions for addressing the referee shortage and improving the officiating experience are included.

A Systems Theory of Mental Health in Recreational Sport

“…In line with the above assumptions, there are various levels of organisations within the recreational sports system that exert reciprocal influence on each other, with a resultant impact on the mental health of all individuals who are involved in the system. For example, community sports clubs exert an influence of athlete mental health [ 46 , 47 , 48 ], parental mental health [ 33 ], and the mental health of officials [ 51 ]. In this sense, community sports clubs are a direct provider of sports programs which influence the mental health of individuals within those clubs through the uptake and implementation of policies, and also through the ways in which the sports programs are designed and implemented.…”

“…For example, the protection of athlete mental health has been the focus of a large program of research in recreational sport (e.g., [ 37 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 53 , 54 ]). More recently, focus has turned to protecting the mental health of officials [ 32 , 51 ]. Similarly, there has been a recent focus on protecting and promoting the mental health of parents in youth sports [ 33 ].…”

“…For example, Brown et al [ 45 ] investigated the ways in which parents and coaches can interact to promote athlete mental health in youth sports. Tingle et al [ 51 ] noted that aggression towards officials negatively influences their mental health. Further, Sutcliffe et al [ 33 ] noted how social support from other parents within the youth sport system can help to enhance and protect the mental health of youth sport parents.…”

“…Pertinently, many authors have noted the ways in which the recreational sport system can influence individual behaviour with regard to individual mental health. Tingle et al [ 51 ] describe in detail the gender issues that result in poor mental health among female officials, which can be exacerbated by the actions of individuals such as coaches—an example of the ways in which different levels of the system interact to influence individual mental health. In addition, the authors also noted systemic issues such as the inability to address mental health stigma in the sport system, and a lack of organisational support and resources for the mental health of female officials [ 51 ].…”

“…Tingle et al [ 51 ] describe in detail the gender issues that result in poor mental health among female officials, which can be exacerbated by the actions of individuals such as coaches—an example of the ways in which different levels of the system interact to influence individual mental health. In addition, the authors also noted systemic issues such as the inability to address mental health stigma in the sport system, and a lack of organisational support and resources for the mental health of female officials [ 51 ]. Sutcliffe et al [ 33 ] modelled this process more explicitly and postulated that the sport context and social actors influence short term outcomes such as interpersonal interactions and resource expenditure, which in turn influence the mental health and wellbeing of parents within the youth sport system.…”