The Officials Are the Authority in Competition

In competition it appears as though the lines have been blurred as to who is truly in control of the sporting game. Headlines cover the sports pages of coaches out of control, players verbally abusing officials, and parents physically attacking referees.

Why is this? Plain and simple... we no longer understand authority positions or hold respect for those in these positions. We live in an age where everyone believes they are an expert and because they disagree with a call believe that justice is only served when their opinion is agreed with and will manipulate and abuse to get there way.

Respect for authority positions in sport simply means to follow the rules in place for the game and as well as the official's interpretation of those rules because of their position. This doesn't mean that an officials interpretation is always correct or that it is not possible that they are wrong. Sportspeople are to honor the official's call because they have been placed in that position as an authority over the game to ensure the rules are being followed as best they can determine by their interpretation and that sportsmanship is followed.

Often times people respond back to this concept stating that officials tend to develop biases towards teams, players, and coaches and use this as an excuse to justify their behavior. My question to you is why did the officials develop these biases? My guess is because you never respected their position or interpretations in the first place and that you always acted in a manner to abuse or manipulate officials to try to change their calls. It has been my experience that officials develop biases for a reason and it is typically towards those who always complain or berate officials because of a disagreement in their interpretation of the rules. If you need a clear visual of this in action, take a look at the movie "Hoosiers" and observe Coach Dale's relationship with officials throughout the movie.

You may ask why were are to respect the officials and recognize them as the authority over the sporting competition. A biblical understanding of how to treat authority is given in Romans 13:1-5 and is very clear.

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience."

God clearly created positions of authority for a purpose and to honor them is a direct instruction given to us who follow Him. He also says that there are consequences for when those in authority are not respected for their position and ruling. In sport, the result is most likely an official who develops a bias towards those in competition who constantly disrespect them and their interpretations. It is clear that we are held to higher standards when it comes to honoring positions of authority. This is not much different than honoring our mother and father.

In the book Born to play! authors Daniels and Wier suggest that instead of attempting to manipulate or intimidate officials to get the call we would like, we are to help officials be the best they can be. They also state that it isn't wrong to disagree or become frustrated with a call but we are not to allow those emotions to determine how we interact with officials. What does this look like?

I would suggest that when a call is made that is disagreed with that instead of reacting out of emotional disagreement, to respectfully ask the official why the call was made and what his interpretation is. This does a couple of things. First, you are staying calm and asking the official for his expertise in the situation. Most likely you will receive a reasonable explanation in return. What this also does is subconsciously cause the official to rethink the situation and possibly see if there is a better interpretation for a future call in the same situation. It allows him to develop and improve his abilities. It also allows you to see firsthand how that official calls the game because each one is different.

I also don't think it is wrong to express a disagreement with an official when a call is blatantly inappropriate or for the safety of the players in the game. However, the approach in stating your position should not be done emotionally or in a manner that chastises or degrades the official. This also lets the official know that I respect your position but here are my concerns.

It is important to remember that because of brokenness in our world due to sin, that just as we are imperfect and make mistakes, so will officials. This is just a part of the cycle. Instead of looking for perfection in an official, look for consistency. There is a tremendous difference between the two and when you move your expectations from perfection to consistency it will help mold your approach to officials.

Performance Based Mentality

What is a Performance Based Mentality? I will define it simply as "Identity = Performance". It is placing unhealthy pressure on yourself to compete at such a high level that you become fearful of what others think of you and of making mistakes. In short your identity becomes based on how you perform.

In my opinion, I believe that everyone struggles with having a performance based mentality but it is more severe for some than others. There are several thought provoking questions you can ask yourself.

• Do you feel like you are the only one that is capable of making good plays? How do you feel if someone else makes a great play?
• Are you motivated by anger or jealousy?
• How do you talk about the game afterwards? Do you immediately lead the conversation to be only about your play?
• Are you confident in who you are as a person regardless of how you play or how the game turns out?

There is a great scene in the movie Jerry Maguire that provides a fantastic example of a guy who oozes with performance based characteristics. Jerry is on the journey to attempt to maintain his job after publishing his memo on who sports agents should be and realizes that he may have just sunk his career. Rod Tidwell is a player who is currently signed with Jerry and is contemplating switching agents because he is not getting the money he feels he deserves based on who he is and his abilities. Rod and Jerry are on the phone and Rod immediately begins describing himself based on all of his accolades and accomplishments as an athlete. The conversation ends with Rod proclaiming to Jerry that he desires "Arizona Dollars" and deserves nothing less.

The interesting thing about this scene is that we hear nothing about the man Rod Tidwell but all about the accomplishments of Rod Tidwell the football player. This is a clear cut portrait of a guy who places the value of who he is as a person based on his accomplishments as an athlete.

For most people, the tendency to illuminate performance based characteristics come after a highly successful game or after a poor competition. When an athlete performs at their highest and are recognized by others for their performance, it is easy to see how he quickly wants to talk about the great plays he had and describe how it came to be.

The opposite is true when players play poorly because they do not want to associate themselves with any part of the competition. It is apparent that they desire to avoid anyone who may have played with them or seen them play and if forced to talk about their performance they quickly find a way to dodge the topic or have an excuse for why it happened.

When the athlete plays well they are comfortable with who they are. When the athlete plays poorly they get down on themselves and can have the tendency to want to hide. Identity = Performance.

An athlete's level of performance can be greatly impacted by struggling with these characteristics. They can become nervous and fearful while they compete and become more focused on making mistakes or on who is watching them play rather than focusing on the details of the game at hand. They are no longer in the flow of the game.

Steve McVey, in his book Grace Walk, sums it up nicely stating that God doesn't determine our identity by behavior but by birth and a person born into the family of God receives a new identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” Scripture clearly exemplifies the point McVey is attempting to explain. Acts 17:28a takes it one step further stating, "For in Him we live and move and have our being." We aren't who we are because of what we have done based on our athletic performances. If we are on the journey with Christ, we are who we are because of who He is in us. Good performances or bad performances, Christ is in us and our identity is in Him.

We no longer have to feel the pressure and wear and tear of living a certain way or performing at a high level in order to find significance in our life. God’s grace frees us from this fear and pressure and allows us to relax and be the athlete He has created us to be through Him. Do not be discouraged if you struggle with performance issues. It absolutely does not mean you need to quit competing! This struggle is just another obstacle in the faith and sport journey that needs to be comprehended and actively pushed through to move closer to becoming the athlete Christ calls you to be.

Do you find yourself so caught up in feeling that you have to perform at such a high level for others to approve of you and most often for God to approve of you? Do you struggle with image management and trying to impress others around you just to feel good about yourself? Remember that God’s grace frees us from having to try to live through sports or work or any other aspect of life that we feel like we have to prove ourselves. The pressure is removed which frees us to relax and live up to the potential God created us to have using the talents He has given to their fullest ability.

Why Do I Compete?

We are all on a journey throughout our life and this journey becomes our story. For many of us a significant part of our story involves sport. In a journey to become an integrated competitor it is first important to develop an understanding as to why we compete and the purpose behind approaching competition.

There are many different reasons to compete and the following is just a quick glance at a few of these reasons. Some who participate in sport are recreationally driven and play for health, community with others, or pure enjoyment of the activity itself. Others are more performance driven and compete because they have a "Players" mentality and are driven to compete at a high level. Some feel the need to try to discover who they are and find their identity through competition while others recognize that God has blessed them with tremendous athletic abilities and they compete to honor Him through the use of these gifts.

There is a great clip from the movie Hoosiers. Coach Dale calls a timeout and informs Strap that he is going in for an injured player. Immediately you see Strap down on his knees praying while Coach Dale is going over the game plan. After the timeout is over, Coach Dale tries to get Strap's attention with no luck. Eventually, Coach Dale tells Strap, "Strap, God wants you on the floor." Strap raises his head from prayer and grins as he takes the floor. The next scene shows Strap in the flow of the game and performing at a high level. Another timeout is called and Coach Dale approaches a grinning Strap and asks, "What has gotten into you?" Strap replies, "It's the Lord. I feel his strength."

This is a great illustration of a player who understands why he competes and recognizes that God has gifted him with athletic ability to compete at a high level. Strap found his identity in Christ and played with pure joy as he was in the flow of the game and honoring Christ by using these abilities.

How does Scripture play a role in guiding us along our journey in recognizing why we compete? Paul, in Philippians, shares with us our call to continue to grow and mature as individuals along our journey. He calls us not to act out of our “flesh” but to live from a relationship with Christ in an understanding of growing towards perfection through Him. What is the flesh? Galatians 5:19 tells us that our flesh operates out of a sinful nature producing sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, and drunkenness. All of these flesh patterns are basically our insecurities acted out and all of these can be found in one form or another in individuals who compete in sport.

Like in every facet of life, sin has infiltrated sport and created tensions that plague us as we compete and can lure us to respond out of our flesh. Growth and maturity are a process throughout the journey that Christ calls us to strive towards although it is never completely attained in our lifetime but only completed once Christ returns again to reign over His perfect Kingdom. This correlates into competition because we are to grow and mature to help in the process of bringing restoration and redemption to a broken and imperfect world. As a part of this broken world is a broken sport culture full of wounded competitors.

Paul sums up how we are to approach the maturity process as it relates to our journey and our understanding as to why we compete. In Philippians 13:12-16 Paul states, "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it." The Message

The results of acting out of the flesh can lead to negative personal and/or team consequences. In sport it can lead to attitudes and actions that can have a detrimental impact on the outcome of a game or relationships with teammates, coaches, opponents, and officials. The great news is if you are a follower of Christ then through the direction of His Holy Spirit you are able to work to mature into the man God has called you to be. Competition just provides another avenue to see where growth is needed.

Remember that along the journey of understanding why we compete, mistakes will happen and have happened and are a natural part of the learning and maturity process Christ has called us to pursue. Christ’s forgiveness and grace allows for mistakes to be made. Mistakes aren’t bad as long as we learn and pursue growing through them.

So the question comes back to why do I compete as a sportsperson? Am I working towards maturing into the person Christ has called me to be and as a result does it flow into how I compete? Do I compete out of insecurities or out of a confidence in whom the Creator has created me to be? How does sport play a part in my personal journey?

Journey Through Sport

Stay tuned for periodic discussion on what it may look like to go on the journey to see what it takes to compete as a sportsperson who fully integrates their Christian faith into sport.