KC-area official went viral on TikTok. He wants to use videos to help recruit new refs | Opinion
Jeremi Barnes is a youth sports official from Raytown known online as The Young Ref.
Thanks to a series of TikTok videos highlighting his work on the football field this season, the 26-year-old could be considered a social media influencer.
At least two of his videos have racked up more than 2.5 million views on the social media app. Another has more than 1 million views. With nearly 214,000 followers, his videos offer insight into the world of a high school football official.
The concept behind The Young Ref movement was to inspire and engage younger generations to consider officiating, Barnes said. If you ask me, he struck gold with this idea.
I’ve been a youth sports official since 2008 and not once did I ever think to record myself as part of a public service announcement. What an ingenious idea.
“I wanted to give people an inside look at what it’s like to be a referee, the challenges we face and the fun aspects of the job,” he said.
“Being miked up adds an authentic element, showing real-time interactions with players and coaches. It was all about pulling back the curtain and making the experience more relatable for viewers.”
For a creative person with a huge following like Barnes, content is king.
During some games this year, Barnes wore a microphone while wife, Madison Barnes, filmed him in action. In the videos I’ve watched, Barnes can be seen sprinting to get into position to make calls or explaining rules in real time as if talking to an audience. He speaks to coaches and colleagues with respect and offers timely advice to players.
My hope is that young people in the Kansas City area watching these videos are inspired to become officials. The profession needs an infusion of new talent. There’s a shortage here and elsewhere and Barnes knows this firsthand. He’s been an official since he was 15.
“There’s a nationwide shortage of referees, and I saw TikTok as a platform where I could make refereeing fun and relatable while highlighting the important role referees play in the game,” Barnes said.
Youth referee shortage
I’ve written before about how a shortage of officials has impacted athletic competition at high schools in Missouri and Kansas. In recent years, some games and tournaments have been postponed or canceled altogether in both states due to the declining number of sports officials.
In 2022, the National Federation of State High School Associations surveyed state high school athletic associations and found about 50,000 people stopped officiating after the 2018-19 season. In the years since, many states have seen the number of registered officials drop significantly, according to NFHS data.
Attrition from younger refs is hard to ignore. A nationwide survey conducted in 2023 by the National Association of Sports Officials found that most young officials leave the profession within the first three years. As a result, the average age of a varsity high school football official is 57.
There are many reasons for this decline, including safety concerns, low pay and unruly behavior from administrators, coaches, players and spectators. In Missouri, a varsity football official is paid about $150 per game. A similar pay scale is used in Kansas. Sub-varsity refs are paid much less and a varsity basketball official makes $85 per contest.
At some point in their career, more than 50% of officials have feared for their safety, the NASO survey found. More concerning is that nearly 12% of officials who responded said they have been physically assaulted during or after a game, according to the association.
In past columns, I’ve urged spectators both young and old to get off the sidelines and become a certified official. But when it comes to recruiting new officials, Barnes has taken this call to action to a different level. Or as longtime high school official Roger Wendel said, “We’ve been doing it all wrong.”
Yes we have.
Wendel, 66, of Sugar Creek, has 38 years of experience as an official. He’s spent the last nine weeks working with the same crew as Barnes. Wendel said he’s witnessed the power of social media due in large part to Barnes’ massive reach.
“I thought I knew what social media was but I had no idea,” Wendell said. “Content is the new communication.”
Fellow official and crew chief Curtis Withers said he has been calling high school games for 44 years. He said more young officials like Barnes are needed.
“Guys like Jeremi make my job a lot easier,” Withers said.
The Young Ref goes viral
During a varsity football game earlier this season between Polo and West Platte high schools, tension between the teams grew by the minute, according to Barnes. On one play, the former track and field standout athlete at Avila University in South Kansas City can be seen on video sprinting full speed to break up a skirmish. Once there, he loses his footing and goes crashing into a player and onto the turf.
What followed was a content creator’s dream. The clip went viral and Barnes’ following grew.
“That was definitely a wild moment,” he said. “But in the end, we were able to get everything under control. It just shows that as a referee, you need to stay calm and composed, even when things go sideways.”
Barnes’ commentary on these videos is equally hilarious as it is insightful. But it’s the interaction he has with the players on the field that resonates most with me. On more than one occasion, players are shown asking Barnes if he is the ref from TikTok.
Sometimes he confirms their suspicions. Other times he plays coy. When he is identified, players usually fist bump him and ask him to point out the camera. The footage brings a certain human element to sports officiating that I believe is crucial to growing the profession.
“My goal is to grow the officiating community and make it more appealing, especially to younger people,” Barnes said. “I also want to promote respect for officials and highlight the life skills officiating teaches; patience, communication, and leadership, just to name a few. Ultimately, I want to change the narrative around refereeing and show it as a rewarding and fun opportunity.”
Barnes needs permission to film
The regular season for high school football in Missouri is over. District playoffs began this week. On Friday, Barnes and crew will don their black and white stripes at Center High School for a postseason contest between KIPP Legacy High and Hogan Prep Academy. To film, he needs permission from both schools. Sanctioning body Missouri State High School Activities Association must sign off as well.
It would be wise for all parties involved to approve Barnes’ request. By now, the power of social media cannot be denied. Barnes’ potential reach is endless. We need new and younger refs. Why not let him spread this message to his growing fan base that is undoubtedly filled with impressionable teens from all walks of life?
Officiating on all levels is a thankless job. But we must always remember: Without refs the games become meaningless scrimmages that don’t count.
About 16 years ago, I went from unruly sports parent to officiating youth basketball in Missouri and Kansas. I have yet to take the court with Barnes. When I do, I will be on my A-game. I would not want to go viral for all the wrong reasons.
