LAST CALL

Resur-wreck-tion

The coaches, players and sparse fans in attendance at a recent December smallcollege basketball game had no idea what they were witnessing. To them, it was just a high-scoring shootout with the home team eventually prevailing. What they didn’t know was they were witnessing a comeback, a miracle, a resurrection.

The referees that night were three friends who had refereed numerous games together: David Carter, Jason Creek and me. All three of us had worked our way through the ranks to eventually work NCAA Division I games, so a midseason NAIA game would not typically be the high point of our season. But this night was different.

You see, Jason had not refereed a college basketball game since December 2016. On Jan. 2, 2017, while driving to referee a D-I game, his SUV was struck head-on by an impaired driver on I-75 in Georgia. In the mangled wreckage, Jason suffered numerous internal injuries and broken bones, including a broken femur and collarbone. Jason was fortunate to survive the accident and was rushed to a major trauma hospital north of Atlanta.

The first few days, Jason’s prognosis was critical. He underwent surgery on his femur, as doctors placed a metal rod in his leg to repair what they said was one of the worst injuries they had ever seen. His lungs struggled to function even with the help of breathing machines. After a few uncertain weeks in the ICU, he slowly but steadily improved.

Jason’s wife, Lana, was by his side during the entire hospital stay, leaving their two young sons back home with family a few hours away in Manchester, Tenn. The couple began dating in college, and she had always been supportive through his officiating journey as they both began their careers in education administration. Jason’s first officiating endeavor was in baseball, where he excelled to umpire in the minor leagues and worked all levels of college baseball. As he and Lana began making plans for their future and a family, he decided his other officiating passion, basketball, was where he wanted to focus. Jason worked his way through the beginning levels of high school and college basketball and the summer camp system to eventually be rewarded with a solid D-I schedule. In the 2016-17 season, his future looked bright, as he was hopeful to soon add a major D-I conference to his resume. Then the accident and …

Jason spent 47 days in the hospital and rehab facilities before returning home. He remembers nothing about the accident and only has sporadic memories of the weeks in the hospital. Over the next several months, he slowly returned to his job and resumed simple tasks such as walking without assistance or pain. However, as he attempted a return to exercising and running, he experienced pain in his knee. Doctors initially told him it was just soreness he would have to work through, but upon further examination, it was discovered he had suffered ligament tears in his knee. His injuries from the accident were so extensive that torn knee ligaments were overlooked. Another surgery and more rehab followed.

As the months and years passed, Jason prepared his mind for a possible return to officiating. He started running again, but he had to be careful not to overwork his body. He refereed a few local rec league and high school JV games. He kept in touch with his many referee friends to discuss new rules and to just stay a part of the fraternity he loved.

With the start of the 2020-21 season, Jason was cautiously eager to get back onto the court. With early assignments getting canceled because of COVID-19, Dec. 15, 2020, would be his return to college basketball.

That day, David and I picked up Jason and Lana and we rode the final two hours to the game together. We reminisced and “pregamed” all the way to the gym. David and I secretly planned to have Jason throw up the opening toss, then David was going to “blow it back” as a “welcome back” prank. But when Jason executed the toss, it was so perfect that David looked at me across the court and just shrugged his shoulders. It was a perfect start to the game and the perfect restart to Jason’s journey.

In all honesty, I was surprised by how well Jason refereed that night, considering his four-year hiatus. He got booed one time by the 30 or so fans in attendance, and we all smiled at each other. The game went smoothly and we stopped for a celebratory meal on the way home.

In a most uncertain and abnormal year, the most normal thing I did was referee a college basketball game with my friend. Whether in his newly resurrected career he referees another five games or 500, his return to the floor should remind us all to be thankful for what we have and give us hope that tomorrow is a new and better day. Todd Austin is a college basketball referee from Lafayette, Tenn. *

As the months and years passed, Jason prepared his mind for a possible return to officiating.

Do you have a personal officiating story to tell?