Mailbox: Start a campaign to highlight mental health impact on referees
HUDDERSFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 10: Referee Ian Smith in action during the engage Super League match between Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos at the Galpharm Stadium on February 10, 2008 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Want to be featured? Email the editor: james@loverugbyleague.com
Dear James,
I totally agree about the recent article regarding referees.
There should be a campaign educating the public on how devastating it can be on their mental health.
Referees should get danger money at a very high rate.
Michael Holding
Editor’s comment: Having spent a lot of time with former Super League referee Ian Smith through our work with mental health charity State of Mind, it certainly opened my eyes to the sheer scale of abuse that referees receive. It is an unenviable task, but without them, there is no game. I would certainly recommend anyone who hasn’t heard Ian’s story and first-hand recollections of the pressure being a referee puts on your mental health to try and get to a State of Mind or Offload session that he is involved with.
Mailbox gives you the chance to get your voice heard and start the debate with the rugby league audience. Want to be featured? Email the editor: james@loverugbyleague.com