(PROCESS)[REFS HAVE A DIFFICULT JOB.]

They’re not just responsible for observing and moderating the action in front of them at a fast pace. They’re also responsible for bearing the brunt of the emotions of a game that tend to boil over. On top of that, they’re not robots, so they also have to be aware of their own emotions and try to remain objective.

It’s a tough job. If refs make a mistake, they’ll get lambasted. If they do a great job, no one mentions them. I always tried to keep that in mind and treat them like the real underappreciated and emotional humans that they are. I think that always worked to my benefit.