I, like many other people, like to play sports. Throughout my childhood, playing sports as a youth was the only constant. I learned teamwork and leadership skills that have shaped me into the person I am today.
But there is a danger facing all youth sports right now that, if not addressed soon, could lead to its demise as we know it: the shortage of youth sports officials due to abuse by parents, players and coaches.
I have seen more instances of abuse than I can count as I am in my 10th season as a USA Hockey official. I’ve had water bottles thrown at me, people have followed me to the parking lot and even threatened my family.
While the Illinois Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey have implemented zero tolerance policies, it has not done enough to curb the abuse we officials face.
As a bystander watching games over the age of 10, I’ve seen parents, beer in hand, get mad at officials who are only 14-16 years old. Coaches also erupt, directing their anger at these young kids. Then there are the players. I’ve had 12-year-olds tell me I’m “damn gross.” Respect for authority has completely disappeared.
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These issues are decimating youth sports’ retention numbers, leaving fewer and fewer people sticking around long enough to reach the higher levels. This pushes inexperienced referees to games for which they are not qualified and leaves lower level games without officials.
With unskilled officials in higher-level games, the risk of dangerous plays going uncalled increases, along with the risk of injury to players. Then the lower level games just don’t get played and our kids don’t get to play the sports they love. And too many instances of officials leaving on the spot or not returning for a second season is killing youth sports as we know it.
I want the next generation of athletes to make lifelong friends, build essential life skills and physical fitness like I did. If we continue down this path of abuse of officials, youth sport as we know it will die.
Alex Crowe, Aurora
Misconceptions about right-to-die legislation
As a physician, I feel it is extremely important to address the inaccuracies and unfounded concerns cited in a recent publication regarding medical aid in dying legislation that is being considered here in Illinois. It is medically incorrect to equate suicide by people with unresolved mental health issues with mentally capable, terminally ill adults (not children) who have typically exhausted all treatment options for a terminal illness and simply want the option to end peacefully the unbearable suffering in the last days of their lives.
American laws on medical assistance in dying are not comparable to Canadian euthanasia law, which does not require self-administration of the drug and is not limited to mentally competent, terminally ill adults. Illinois’ end-of-life law for terminally ill patients includes a dozen safeguards modeled after the practice of medical aid in dying over the past quarter century in 10 US states. In each of these countries, there has never been a single proven case of a practice involving coercion, including people living with disabilities.
For example, a Journal of Medical Ethics report on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act concluded, “Oregon’s assisted dying rate…shows no evidence of increased risk for the elderly, women, uninsured…people with low educational status. the poor, the physically disabled or chronically ill, minors, people with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities, compared to the population of the past.”
In addition, a federal court recently dismissed a lawsuit that argued that California’s revised medical aid-in-dying law, which reduced the waiting period from 15 days to 48 hours, forced people with disabilities to use that option. The decision concluded: “… the decision of a terminally ill patient to request medication for aid in dying – and accordingly not to participate in or seek the benefits of other public health services – is voluntary.”
Finally, there is no financial incentive for insurers to force patients to use medical assistance in dying because they have already stopped receiving expensive, extensive, or intensive care and are usually enrolled in relatively inexpensive hospice care. That’s why a New England Journal of Medicine study concluded that there are no substantial cost savings in choosing medical aid in dying over other end-of-life care options. The legislation specifically prohibits insurers from denying or modifying health benefits based on aid in dying.
That’s why I’m proud to support the Illinois End of Life Act for Terminally Ill Patients.
Diane Schaar, MD, Burr Ridge
Bears, Sox owners should leave the taxpayers alone
The McCaskeys and Reinsdorfs are at it again, looking for hard-working Illinois and Chicagoans to subsidize their multimillion-dollar enterprises. I’m against cronyism and corporate welfare, but these two take the cake. Worst of all, they don’t need our help (for which we get nothing in return) to build their fantasyland entertainment areas. Whatever money a politician offers them would be better spent on the small businesses that are really the engine of our economy.
Let the Bears and Sox take the risk themselves and they can keep all the profits from the brands paying $10 for a bland hot dog and 15 smackers for an empty beer after they’re down a few hundred just to get a good seat in the new parks. No tax dollars should be used to line the pockets of McCaskey and Reinsdorf.
Adam Price, Wheaton
