Exposing Unruly Parents with Little League President Don Bozzuffi

John Boruk: 0:07

Hello again. Glad you're back with us here on Raising a Champion. It's the podcast that covers every angle of youth sports and how to make it a little bit better for everyone, Wherever you listen, however you listen, you can catch us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music and Google. By subscribing to us, you'll be alerted every time We have a new episode that is posted and in doing so, please, if you can leave us a review, It'll go a long way in helping us move up the charts. All right, let's get right to it. I am thrilled to have today's guest in studio. He's been involved in youth sports for nearly 50 years. In some aspect, Not only does he run and manage his own karate studio, but he has served as the Deftford Little League president since the 1980s. Most recently, he has made national headlines appearing on CNN, Fox News, you name it. His face has been out there. He is reforming the way that parental behavior should be at Little League Baseball Games. Don Bazzucci, welcome to raising a champion. How are you, Don?

Don Bozzuffi: 1:14

Thank you, i'm fine. Good Thank you for having me.

John Boruk: 1:17

Yes, Little League president, this is something that I think you said that you've been doing since what? 1985?

Don Bozzuffi: 1:23

Well, I've been involved since 1985 with the Deftford Little League. I've been the president there since 2010.

John Boruk: 1:30

Okay.

Don Bozzuffi: 1:31

But I've been in other capacities on the board for years.

John Boruk: 1:35

Have you had kids that played Little League Baseball?

Don Bozzuffi: 1:37

I have. They went right up through the ranks and I coached them all.

John Boruk: 1:41

But you decided that you wanted to be involved and continue to be in the Little League arena. I'm a lifer, Are you? Yeah, Because you just what you like the development You like to see at the grassroots level I do.

Don Bozzuffi: 1:57

I enjoy watching the kids and watching them develop and watching them enjoy themselves and just having fun doing what they love to do.

John Boruk: 2:07

As I said off the top, you've been part of the Little League Association for decades. How has it changed throughout that time, from the time that your kids, you know we're eight, nine, 10, 11 years old, to where we are now?

Don Bozzuffi: 2:24

Okay, it's changed dramatically in some aspects and other aspects it hasn't. The majority of the people that come to these games are awesome. It's like anything else in life. It's always a small fraction of the people, and I'd say two to five percent, and back in the 80s they were loud and they were obnoxious, but now they're bordering getting violent and really nasty and verbally abusive and profane, and it's upsetting because those people seem like they think they're entitled. I don't know why. We're a volunteer organization, little League's volunteer. All these people that are out there are doing this for free, for their friends, for their children. They're giving up time that they could be spending at home with their families and they're getting abused. And I just had it, and so we had to come up with something.

John Boruk: 3:32

All right, so you started in 2010. It had been 12, 13 years, and so you've seen the abuse and you've seen just the belligerence really escalate to a point to where it's yeah, and we'll get into the fact that Little League and a lot of sports are really suffering because people don't want to have to endure this type of abuse from parents Exactly, especially if they're not earning anything And what they do it could be at some level 20 or $30 or $50 a game. But so talk about, before we kind of get into the levels and what you've seen from parents over the years, what you finally decided to do to sort of combat the behavior that you see from parents and spectators that go to these Little League games.

Don Bozzuffi: 4:28

Okay. So over the years we've tried different things. Okay, little League International has guidelines that managers and coaches and fans that are unruly they can get suspended for that game and the next. So we do that. We'd wind up telling them you have to leave or we'll have you removed for this game and the next. But it's temporary fix.

John Boruk: 4:51

They come back next week and sometimes it doesn't curb their behavior, it does nothing.

Don Bozzuffi: 4:55

Sometimes they're mad when they come back. Yeah, they're even more insistent Yeah, they're backward events. Okay, all right.

John Boruk: 5:03

So you found out that didn't really work all that.

Don Bozzuffi: 5:06

Well, okay. So my umpire and chief came to me and said we just lost one of our dedicated on-line umpires uh, two unruly fans. He said he didn't sign on for this. So I sent out a letter to all the parents, a mass email, telling them to just, you know, calm down, you know these are volunteers, We can't chase them away. And you know, just just go out there and enjoy your children and give them some positive reinforcement and everything will be fine. The very next day calls me again. He says we lost another one. He says you got to be kidding me. He goes no, they were really nasty with him. He just walked right off the field, said I can't take this, didn't even finish the game, didn't finish the game. So, um, luckily we had two other umpires on the field that night, so I I was a little bit more, uh, i was really upset.

John Boruk: 5:55

So so it was a lot You had lost. You had now lost two umpires, And how many do you typically need to successfully navigate a season?

Don Bozzuffi: 6:04

We need a lot more than we've got We had. We have, right now, five to now. Now, you have to remember, we have 25 teams, so in our league with five umpires. So it takes some, it takes some shuffling around and sometimes we only have one.

Don Bozzuffi: 6:20

I've, i've had to me myself and the, the vice president, had to do many games this year because and I don't like, i like, i like to monitor the fields, i like to walk around and make sure everything's okay. I couldn't do that. I had to umpire. Same thing with the vice president. So I said that's enough. So I sent out an email and I said now we've lost another dedicated volunteer For fan abuse. And I'm going to tell you what we're going to do now.

Don Bozzuffi: 6:47

The next time someone abuses, humiliates or otherwise is disrespectful to one of our umpires, you're going to be barred from our field. Unless you decide, and you're and you're, you're going to go by what we want, and that is, you're going to umpire three games to completion And when you, when you're done, then we'll let you back on the fields. This way I I'm figuring okay, there, nobody's going to want to do this. So let's put them on the spot and let them go out there and see what it's like. That it's not. It's not all. All a better rose is after Yeah, It's not, it's.

John Boruk: 7:27

It's always easier on the other side of the chain.

Don Bozzuffi: 7:29

Absolutely, absolutely.

John Boruk: 7:31

So your season started in April. Yes, sir, okay, early April.

Don Bozzuffi: 7:37

April 1st.

John Boruk: 7:37

Okay. Season started in April 1st. How long into the season before you had to implement this new rule?

Don Bozzuffi: 7:44

Okay, so those phone calls were actually within the first two weeks, so it was, it was pretty early. So, uh, you know, so we've, we've, and I said effective immediately. So I don't want to hear it from anybody And, um, it's been remarkably good. I mean to the point of some people were coming up to me and saying everybody's scared to say anything. And you know what? I don't want people to be scared to say something. I want them to enjoy the game and cheer on the children. But if that's what it takes, okay, then be scared, let the kids play.

John Boruk: 8:19

Well, look, i mean, this is not like we're walking a very thin line here, right, i mean we can sit there and say let's go, johnny, all right, you know, let's get a hit Ducks on the pond, sort of thing And then, as opposed to what the hell was that? I mean I think we, i think we know it's a pretty definitive line here. I don't understand why you could be afraid to say anything.

Don Bozzuffi: 8:43

And you know, i wouldn't even mind what the hell was that. I wouldn't even mind, right.

John Boruk: 8:47

You know.

Don Bozzuffi: 8:48

I mean, they get vulgar, and this is in front of seven, eight, nine-year-old kids. It's like, really. It's like I know, when these parents are at home, they demand respect I, and rightly so, okay. And then they come here And what are they showing their children? Just the opposite. And what do the kids get out of it? It's learned behavior, okay, so I know. So all I got to do now, if I don't like to call, start yelling at the umpire and screaming and saying bad words like that he did, and he's not going to do it again. He's going to make sure he watches what he calls, and that's, that's what goes through my mind Is this is this what they're picking up?

John Boruk: 9:25

You know, so have you seen that bleed down to the kids over the years. Oh, absolutely, they think that they can kind of jog because when I played nobody talked to the umpire, like that was off limits. You do that, your coach is going to sit you and you don't see the game. Yeah, you're done.

Don Bozzuffi: 9:44

Yeah, well, it's a, it's a. It's a whole different ball game out there now. Okay, and with the, the, the landscape of our culture right now, it's a violent one. Watch the news And that concerns me. I don't know people's intentions, especially when they start getting irate and they, you know it starts escalating. We've had people go out and onto the field and we had to go out there and remove them and have the police. We don't know their intentions. Why are they going out on the field? You know it's like they're not supposed to be out there And it just, it's just very concerning And I said, you know, i got to do something before this escalates out of control. So, and that's that's what we came up with. And you know what, if that doesn't work, we're going to figure something out.

John Boruk: 10:37

Okay, so mid-April you put this, you put this new rule into place. Here we are, two months later. Have have parents had to go out? Have you had an instance where a parent has broken the rule and now they have to go out there and not yet Really Not yet. So it's actually so. It has completely changed their behavior.

Don Bozzuffi: 10:56

It has, and it's it's become a deterrent, and that's what I was hoping it would be. You know, just listen, it's simple. Just come and enjoy the game, but let other people enjoy it also. Watch your children, you know, and, and you know, make some memories, and not bad ones. And, and you know, when you're out there screaming, you might be okay for your little boy or girl to to hear what you're saying. But how about the other children out there that aren't used to hearing those words at home, and and and and teaching them the wrong way to have and disrespect It's? it's just not acceptable.

John Boruk: 11:34

Yeah, why do you think that is Like take, take us back, you know, from 80s, 90s to where we are now. That's when I I learned to play little league. You know 19, probably 81, 82, 83. And there's not one instance that sticks out in my mind where and maybe there was, maybe maybe there was some parents, that kind of, but I don't remember that being to where, as a player, i would go to a game of one of my baseball games and think, oh geez, which parent is going to get out of control and have to be tossed out tonight? I don't, i don't recall that. So how, why do you think it is over the years that is. It is that the complete disrespect towards authority and just feeling that they can, they have no filter and and just behave the way that they do in such a belligerent way. It is, it is, it is taken off the way it has.

Don Bozzuffi: 12:36

Well, i think that people just think that they're entitled. You know, we, we, we charge barely anything and we have a we, we have a program where, if you sell raffle tickets, you could recoup all your money. So I don't, i don't get it, if that's what it is, but I've come up with the theory that it's ignorance of the rules. Number one. Number two feeling that your child's been slated. And you have to remember these people that that do escalate to abuse. Their child hits the ball, ground, ball. He's not even halfway to first. In their eyes, he's safe, already, already safe. So when it, when the call is, is different than what they are expecting, they just lose it. And and people come to me and you know you've got to go over there, so and so, acting like a loon in the stands, screaming and cursing and like, oh man, it's, it's as I say, most of the people are wonderful, but it's that, it's that small percentage that ruined it for everybody and and everything in life.

John Boruk: 13:42

But you, you, you work with kids, you not only in your karate studio to be seen, but don't you think these kids look at this and and they're embarrassed by their parents? I mean, or or do do they look at that and say, yeah, that's the way it's supposed to be? Because I would think that that's the one thing that I wouldn't want my kids to say it there and say, oh my gosh, i'm. They won't say it to you, but you, you know that they're going to feel embarrassed.

Don Bozzuffi: 14:07

Oh, absolutely. The one good thing is it's usually the kids that are close to the stands, the first based pitch or the catcher. Everybody else that's out a little bit more really doesn't know what's going on. They just hear the cheering and you know the screaming. but there are, there are children that do hear it and get very upset. I've had it over the years. I've had children that I coached would would, would be crying in the dugout Can you please go tell my mom to tell my dad to go home? Actually happen, really. And I had to stop the game and go out and say can you please get so and so out of here now? And she, she did. And I mean these kids, they don't want this. They want, they want to enjoy themselves and play.

John Boruk: 14:48

They really don't they're. they are not as settled into wins or losses like these parents are. I mean, they just don't. You know it's, it's, they can walk off the field in tomorrow's, another day. Yeah, they're just not as invested in winning or losing at that age.

Don Bozzuffi: 15:08

They're not And and you know, they're at the, at the point where they're learning, and they're learning plays and they're learning situations, and even though they might have thought, okay, that kid, i thought he was out at first, but they're not screaming, it's not the kids. The kids are getting ready for the next play. Okay, so they called him safe, so we got to force it second, so now I got to do this and that, and this is what I observe. It's not the kids. The kids are there to play the game, it's. I wish the parents would let the kids play and just enjoy watching them do that instead of trying to throw a monkey wrench into gears and yeah, you know, yeah, well, and, and, and, and.

John Boruk: 15:45

You sort of hit the nail on the head at this level. It's all about development, it's all about learning the skill set. Uh, situational play, i mean that's the big thing about baseball is a lot of it's so cerebral is to know what you're going to do before the ball is even put into play, and, and, and, and, the little league at the little league level. You know this is, this is the time, this is the age, this is the level of play where you learn all of that stuff Absolutely.

Don Bozzuffi: 16:12

And, and John, you know what Little league is recreational.

John Boruk: 16:16

It's not like travel ball, where you're, you're, you're expected to do you know you expect to have a, to not have the knowledge of the game, to know all of that.

Don Bozzuffi: 16:25

This goes beyond the realm of baseball. What we're trying to teach these kids are life lessons. It's those, aren't baseball players out there to children. We're trying to teach them more than just hitting the ball, although we're doing that in the process of teaching them camaraderie and sportsmanship and respect. And when these people come and they act like that, what? what? it just breaks down everything that we try as an organization to teach these children. And so you know, if these people are not happy with what we're coming up with and they don't want to serve the penalty, they can just go away. And it's unfortunate because I know it's going to happen. They're going to take their children with them and we don't want that to happen. But we can't have this happening at any cost. You know there's other children out there that don't need to see this, and if these people don't understand that, then so be it.

John Boruk: 17:21

Yeah, So, but it sounds like what you've put into place, what you've implemented, is having an impact And because maybe parents look at if I'm now being called on to call a game and I take it it's not going to be a game that their son's playing, right.

Don Bozzuffi: 17:37

No, we know what those calls would be like. Yeah, we know how that game would go.

John Boruk: 17:42

So they don't get to umpire their kid's game, which means that they got to make even more time to be out at the field. Absolutely Yeah, and at the same time, oh, you know, then everybody's talking. There's, hey, there's, you know, there's Ralph over there, ralph, and I'm sure that they become sort of the pariah, the little pariah.

Don Bozzuffi: 18:02

Absolutely, and we're not going to put them behind home plate. Number one, that's a liability, because if they don't know what they're doing they can get injured. Okay, so we're going to put them on a base to begin with. They're going to be on a base with a certified umpire out there with them And what we, what I have told the umpiring staff when this happens and you're out there with them, if their call is incorrect, you override it. You call time and you override it.

Don Bozzuffi: 18:28

I want them to know this is not easy. No, yeah, this is. This is not just out or safe, it's positioning yourself. Okay, the balls hit to the right side of the first baseline. You have to know how to go out and turn And there's a certain way you do it. And now you have to look at a certain base. You have to know when to stop so you can see the play. There's so much to know. And just because they see that their son or whoever was safe and the umpire was incorrect, they're going to be vocal about it until I guess they think they're going to change the call.

John Boruk: 19:03

I don't, i don't get it you know Well, but don't you think in, in, in. We've seen such a huge uptick in travel teams. And parents. Don't just look at this as recreational. They are trying to curate the next Derek Jeter. They're trying to, you know, develop the next Bryce Harper out there. Yeah, You get, as you, as you show me your Yankees tattoo. Uh, that they've already. Uh, from the time these kids are nine, 10, 11, they've already, in their mind, set the wheels in motion that I'm, I'm creating the next baseball superstar.

Don Bozzuffi: 19:44

Well, well, that that's basically what it is. They're, you know, their, their dreams. when they played little league in high school, their dreams didn't pan out. So now they, they want their children's too, and you know, and that's great to do that, but they've got to. they've got to come down to earth and understand the percentage of kids that that go to, that excel and make all South Jersey or all Delaware, and the percentage of them that make it to a D1 college program. it's very low, it's, it's absolutely low, let alone make it to the pro level. So, you know, have a. they should have the backup plan and start worrying about that quite a bit more than their, their, their children playing.

John Boruk: 20:29

Well, take it, you know, this is the way that I look at it is kids at that age, you, you're, you're not developing a college baseball player at that age, but you're certainly going to burn them out of the game before they even get there. Absolutely, the chances of that happening are significantly greater of burning them out before they even get there. But to your point, i think I think the number is two to 5% somewhere in there that even play high school baseball will then take it to the next level, and then, of those people to take it to the next level, maybe that number is 5 to 10% that they get a full ride scholarship. So you can see how the funnel gets so narrow from the time that you know and if you're playing varsity baseball, you're pretty good, pretty good ball player at that point.

Don Bozzuffi: 21:17

And that's what it is. You know you want to know the truth At this level where, where a lot of these problems are happening, these kids aren't thinking about high school ball. They're not thinking about anything else except having fun and let's play, let's play right now. And they're just learning the game And at some point the parents have to leave. leave the game to the coaches. And what I tell the parents when there's in the past, when there's been instances in the stand, i says listen, enjoy the game, stop yelling out there. If you have questions about what happened after the game, go to your coach. Don't follow the umpire out into the parking lot. Go ask your coach. Your coach might give you some insight. He might even say no, no, you're wrong, he was out. Hey, you know. go talk to him and he, you know.

John Boruk: 22:08

But here's a here's a good lesson to teach your kids. Guess what? You're not always going to get the call.

Don Bozzuffi: 22:12

Absolutely.

John Boruk: 22:13

Now, failure is a part of life, mm, hmm, yeah, you, you, you, you, you, you. By failing, you know, you learn to pick yourself up, you learn to realize, guess what, you know, just like life's not fair, yeah, you, you, you're going to get, you may get a call. Third strike, that didn't cross the plate, it happens, you know it's. It's all part of the learning process. If you're going to play sports, you're going to realize things aren't always going to work out in your favor.

Don Bozzuffi: 22:39

We teach our coaches don't work the umpires. read the umpires and teach that to the kids. If he's calling them high, teach the kids.

John Boruk: 22:49

Yeah, That's a great point.

Don Bozzuffi: 22:50

You got to be swinging.

John Boruk: 22:51

Great point, yeah, no, that's that's, that's perfect. So what do you have before the season? Do you have a meeting with the coaches and sort of set, lay out the expectations? Or, because you've been doing this a long time, you bring a wealth of experience and to youth baseball. So how do you, how have you incorporated that into the way that you run your particular league?

Don Bozzuffi: 23:13

Okay, each league has their own player agent and that player agent is a coach from the past that's well versed in in the sport and they'll, they'll, they'll give some tips, they'll give some, uh, they'll go to their practices and show them. They'll get them all together and say, okay, this is what we're going to do. You're not going to do this And you know, and that helps. And then they'll do some mechanics on the field with them and show them what they're supposed to be doing out there and where they're supposed to stand when they're coaching and everything. Um, you know super nuts, everything that they could teach them. And, um, you know, that helps a lot.

Don Bozzuffi: 23:50

And, uh, our coaches aren't the problem. Our coaches are when, when there's when there's a problem, they call us up, say yo, i don't get this, what do I? you know this happened and this happened. How do I? how do I fix that? And we'll, and we'll tell them and they'll say I'm sorry to call you. Listen, i want you to call me, i want you when you have a question, because we want the program to run smoothly. And they do, they call us up, we explain it to them and they're fine, they're not the problem.

John Boruk: 24:18

Yeah, Yeah, yeah. Do the coaches work with these parents at all, or to try to approach them? I mean, you shouldn't have to be the authoritarian figure to have to go in and intervene every single time, like the policing should be done, i think, with the parents who have already met with some of the I mean the coaches who have met with some of these parents.

Don Bozzuffi: 24:39

Yeah Well, i suggest to all the coaches beginning of the year, you have a sit down with the parents, tell them what's expected of the children, what's expected of the parents in the stand, and let them know that there are boundaries and don't cross it. And I don't expect the managers and coaches during a game, when people are acting up, to stop the game and go out there. That's our job. That's why we monitor the fields And we tell them you concentrate on that And, even though they'll listen to you before us, let us handle it And you just take care of the children and we'll take care of the parents.

John Boruk: 25:19

Okay, Well, I mean that makes sense. I know that there's other sports leagues, other leagues and other sports that they make you sign a code of conduct policy, And is little league thought about that in terms of putting a code of conduct in there, or is that just they sign it and boom? that still doesn't really deter them one way or the other.

Don Bozzuffi: 25:39

Our town, deppford, new Jersey. We were the first town in the state to enact a code of conduct And it's worked fine in the past. We've only had to use that against a spectator I guess in 15 years, maybe a handful of times. But, that being said, you're always going to get somebody that's going to push the envelope. They don't care what you put into place. People have been asking me oh, do you think that you're not going to have any problems? now I said, oh, we'll have problems, it's a matter of time. There's people out there don't care what we do, what you do, they're going to test the waters. So I'm prepared And a lot of people have been asking me And I've seen a lot of different articles and stuff. I've seen things on Facebook groups and they're saying this will never work. You're going to have lawsuits and you're going to have this And you're well, i hope they understand that we thought this out. We just didn't say, hey, this is what we're going to do. So there's a process for it and it's actually going to be more work for us than it is for that person going out to the umpire.

Don Bozzuffi: 26:53

So first of all, we have to do background checks on them. They've got to fill out a volunteer application. We do two background checks on them. We do the JDP background check and I do a 50-state sexual offenders registry background check. That's number one. Then we have to have the umpire a certified umpire go out there and teach them field mechanics, go over the rules with them. Then we have to give them. In New Jersey we have what's called Rutgers Youth Sports Research Council, which myself and the town mayor in Deppford we give this course. We're clinicians through Rutgers. It's a three-hour course that's set up through the governor's council. When these coaches and volunteers sit there for the three hours that we're going to speak to them about the content, they will be immune from lawsuits. So now we're protecting them that way also. So it's not like this wasn't thought out And Yeah, you had to, we had to.

John Boruk: 27:52

You can't just say, hey, we held a 30-minute emergency meetings, like, let's do this. Yeah, you have to have steps in place, absolutely. You can't just, it can't just be a knee-jerk reaction, no, no, yes. So that's. What's pretty impressive about the whole thing is that you have, like I said, and every coach in any sport has to undergo all those background checks Sure, yeah, and it has to fill out all the paperwork. I mean, that's otherwise, then you are open for liability Sure.

Don Bozzuffi: 28:25

So we also make all of our volunteers and we're going to make any of these people that have to umpire. we also make them go through an online concussion course so that they could recognize the symptoms of the concussion Yeah, even in baseball, right, yeah, exactly.

Don Bozzuffi: 28:38

So it's been thought out. Could there be bumps in the road? Could there be things we have to tweak? Of course, of course. Well, you don't know until you test it and you see okay, all right, this happened out there, that happened. We'll do this now to protect us for that and to protect them from this, and we'll figure it out. Yeah, but I think we're on the right path And the same.

John Boruk: 28:58

Well, you better be on the right path, because before you got here today I was sort of scouring the internet and the story that popped up right away is that in this area alone and it's probably the same no matter where you go is we're hurting for officials. There's an extreme need for new officials in all sports, all ages, all games, all locations, he says. The person that they talked to in this article said his first year he did 15 games in a season. Now he's doing 40 games. He's now doing almost triple because you got less manpower And what people don't really, i think.

John Boruk: 29:42

Oh, they go on to say that they've probably lost 30% of their officials. They says we'll lose two or three a year and only get one. So your turnover is you're not filling that need And the problem is that if you don't have them at the grassroots level, there's probably a trickle up effect That means they're not becoming equipped. You start at that level so that you can work your way into whatever the next level High school baseball, junior high, middle school, high school, and then, if they do minor league baseball, whatever their aspirations of doing it the bottom line is as though you start at the bottom If you've got nobody starting at the bottom. Nobody's ever going to work their way to the very top.

Don Bozzuffi: 30:31

Correct And the ones that are quitting and walking away. The number one I've read a lot of articles. The number one reason is fan abuse. They, a lot of them, don't want to deal with it, and I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to deal with it.

John Boruk: 30:47

Yeah, i mean hockey, which I'm at a lot of hockey games.

Don Bozzuffi: 30:55

See, i'm sure, football All the context is worse.

John Boruk: 30:57

Yeah Right, because you're expected certain penalties to be called, and I mean everybody's got rose-colored glasses on for their particular team, exactly.

Don Bozzuffi: 31:10

And I guess if people would think on their way to that game, hey, things might happen today that I'm not going to agree with. Okay, well, get it in your head now that you're not the one that makes that decision. If you want to make those decisions, we'll teach you how to do it. You could come out and help us. Otherwise, if you're going to stand on that side of the fence, you've got to be quiet, and if you can't just give positive reinforcement to these kids, don't say a word.

John Boruk: 31:38

Don't say a word. That's it. So, since you've put this into play, tell me some of the immediate attention that you've received, because you certainly didn't expect that a little Deppford, New Jersey, was going to be, you know, was going to garner this much attention from so many different media outlets.

Don Bozzuffi: 31:57

It's unbelievable. I sent an e-mail, a mass e-mail out to the parents. The second e-mail, and then I wrestled with the idea of putting it on Facebook And I said I just want to make this local, i don't want this to get out of hand in other towns around us calling me up and saying what are you doing? I said heck with it And I put it up on Facebook. And it wasn't long after that that the media started calling And I didn't even know how they got my phone number Until one of them said I said how did you get my phone number? It's on your info on your Facebook. I just said what.

John Boruk: 32:37

I didn't even know I had my phone number.

Don Bozzuffi: 32:38

Right, so but and it went, when I was at Fox and Friends, they sent a car down to pick me up and drive me there And I befriended this guy. I said, yeah, let me sit in the front. We were just talking.

John Boruk: 32:54

They sent a car down to drive you from South Jersey up to New York City.

Don Bozzuffi: 32:57

Yes, CNN did it too. But when I was going with him, he, on the way back, he said to me you don't know what you did. I says, yeah, i do, we're trying to solve a problem. He goes no, you don't realize what you did. He said I, i'm inside in the green room, in and out of there all day long. He goes.

Don Bozzuffi: 33:17

I was listening to the reporters in there yesterday and they're talking and the one woman I forget the name said to the other guys is this has gone viral across the country so quick. And he said to her. he said what is it, tell me? he said to her this is going to go global. And it wasn't long after that I got calls from Australia, cbs News in Australia. They called me on a phone conversation and it went throughout the whole continent. Canada same thing. I think it was sun something. The same thing, throughout throughout Canada. It was like crazy This was. and you know what it made me realize. The reason is is not because it's a novelty, because people realize this is a big problem And we've got to do something about it.

Don Bozzuffi: 34:07

Mine, my solution, might not be the answer, but what I? I ask every coach that has contacted me do something. You don't have to do what we're doing. Do something. Let's let the people know we're not going to put up with this. We're going to let the kids play, if you like it or not. And if we keep doing this and keep that line of communication open, somebody's going to have the great idea and we can all follow that. But we're not going to know unless everybody does it. And all those people out there were saying oh, he's crazy, this will never work. What's wrong with him? He's an ass. I said I really don't care what they think. We're trying and you have to try somewhere.

John Boruk: 34:49

You have to try.

Don Bozzuffi: 34:49

You have to try.

John Boruk: 34:50

You have to try something at some point And, like I said, you've been president now for 12, 13 years You can only stand pads for so long and kick people out And cause at some as you've said off, you know, at the top of this episode is that doesn't work anymore.

Don Bozzuffi: 35:09

It doesn't. And you know what, john? I'm a true believer of this. Somebody brought this to my attention years ago. Some of these people don't even know that they're acting like this. They're just so. They're just so into this game and the excitement of it, and I'm going to tell you why. Recently, since I did this, i got a text sent to me from somebody in my town, and this is how the text went. This is after we initiated this. Kudos to you, congratulations. This needed to be done a while ago. I applaud you for bringing this to everybody's attention and having the guts to start it. You're the man That came from somebody.

Don Bozzuffi: 35:50

That's one of the problems, one of the problems in our league, yeah, in the stands And I was like I don't believe this, it's unbelievable, and it just made me think they're right. Sometimes they don't even realize what they're doing. They got you know. Sometimes you got to.

John Boruk: 36:07

My father told me It's like they step out of body. It's an out of body experience, exactly, and it's almost as if you need to have a. And obviously, with social media and everybody has a camera phone and this, it's so easy that when these episodes happen, it usually goes onto Facebook or it goes onto Twitter and, you see it, it starts to circulate and these things go viral And you would think people would start to catch on, say I don't want to be the guy that, but it doesn't. And then you see more and more of it. I see I've seen parents try to climb the glass in a hockey game. I've seen, I've seen parents walk out on the field of a football game, you know, during the game, and confront the ref and punch them, so, but it doesn't. It does it, does it, does it. They just don't they, they. It's no self-consciousness and no self-awareness of what's what's taking place in the heat of the moment.

Don Bozzuffi: 37:06

You know they need to. They need to stop, calm down, stop breathe, count to 10 and then see if you're still that mad.

John Boruk: 37:14

Well, yeah, and and and. Look, a lot of sports have that what they call the 24 hour policy, which is more directed towards a parent and coach, where you don't like the fact that they pulled Johnny after the fifth inning, or pinch, hit him, or he didn't get enough playing time, or or, or you know he only pitched one. Whatever the case, whatever it is And there's, it happens in hockey, i'm sure it happens in every sport But there's a 24 hour cooling down period. You almost, you almost need that in this board. There's a 24 hour cooling down. And, first off, you should never talk to the officials. No parent official interaction at all. No, it shouldn't be, but but it's the whole cooling down period. You're right, that's a good point. Count to 10. Do whatever you need to do. Maybe walk away, go to your car for an inning or two, but you got to. Just, you got to breathe, you got to.

Don Bozzuffi: 38:06

I tell, i tell my own powers. When, especially during the game, when you're confronted in the stand, they're asking you what was that call and how come you do not turn around and answer them. I said, well, all you're going to do, it's, it's. It's just going to escalate. You're not going to change their mind. So I do not turn around and tell them why. Okay, let the coach take care of it after the game. So it's I've.

Don Bozzuffi: 38:31

I've seen them follow the umpire out to the parking lot and I have walked out there and you know, and, and we've had, i guess about six years ago one of our board members was punched in the face. The, the, the, the the irate fan followed. um well, came up to the stand to to confront the board members about this umpire that they didn't believe, like this call. And when one of my board members tried to deescalate it and tried to calm him down, he grabbed my board members' phone, threw it over the concession stand, punched him in the face, took his hot dog, threw it in his face It we, we pressed charges.

John Boruk: 39:11

Yeah.

Don Bozzuffi: 39:11

He's, he's this. This person is banned for life. Yeah, so you know it's, it's happened, it's, and it just boggles the mind. It's like over, over, and that was over seven and eight year olds, over seven and eight year olds children.

John Boruk: 39:27

It's astonishing, isn't it? There's Little League, uh, up in Williamsport called and said hey, we hear what you're doing. Oh, how, how is it working? What did you? what have you had to do in order to implement it? Uh, and you know, have they brought you a board to, to, to help with the sportsmanship, the gamesmanship of, of Little League baseball? They have not.

Don Bozzuffi: 39:50

Okay, well, what the? the um, the president of Little League International came, came on one of the uh, uh, the the networks where I did a um an interview and and gave us kudos and said we, we applaud Deferent Little League for uh, trying to implement a a fun and positive way. You know, and I, i appreciated that, but they didn't reach out to us. I'm, i'm kind of disappointed that they didn't, because I would have liked to to discuss it with them. But, um, i'm, I'm okay as long as, as long as we, we have control of it. You know, uh, in our town. That that's what I'm concerned about, right, now?

John Boruk: 40:26

Well, i I would think that there's a lot of Little League programs, a lot of sports leagues that are going through this. How, what can we do? Uh, how can we combat the issue? How can we control the environment? Um, and so, as you said, it's, it's probably something that where you're going to have to put it into your charter or into your books, and this is what we're going to do And that's what you figured out.

Don Bozzuffi: 40:50

Exactly, and we're, we're right now we're. it hasn't been tested yet, but, um, it's been a deterrent which is great, and people are. uh, there was a an article in one of the local papers just came out last week in New Jersey and they, they asked one of the parents and she said I don't like, i don't like that they call us obnoxious parents, which I don't remember ever at one of my players Referring as obnoxious.

Don Bozzuffi: 41:18

Um, obnoxious as I guess they're, they're uh, uh, their actions in the stands Right. And, and she, um, uh, she continued. They asked her okay, have you ever been one of those parents in the stands that have yelled? And she said, yes, i have, because they make some bad calls sometimes and it makes us lose the game. And he says he said something to the effect of I think you're one of the ones that don't get it. So, so that's absolutely true.

John Boruk: 41:44

So Yeah, so you've done a lot at this interview process, right? Yeah, i've done a lot. You've done a lot right.

Don Bozzuffi: 41:52

You kind of like it. I do, i like it, i enjoy it. You know more than just me liking it. I'm, i'm getting the word out, and you know what? I have a chance to make a difference and I want to. I want to take that chance and run with it. So that's why, uh, i, i haven't turned down any, any, any interviews. So I want to get the word out.

John Boruk: 42:13

Yeah, Why I appreciate you coming on here. You've done this a week ago, uh, but you were honored as the citizen of the week and in, in, in, in, in, in in in your town which is a great honor.

Don Bozzuffi: 42:26

That's good.

John Boruk: 42:27

They they're recognizing you for the work that you're doing in the little league which they made us. They probably didn't even know your name, but what you did for you know the last 13 years as as little league president they do.

Don Bozzuffi: 42:37

They know me and you know of all all this thing that it went international. That really hit my heart because I love my town. You couldn't pay me to go live anywhere else And that was so wonderful and important to me. I'll never forget it. And they, they, they treat me like, like royalty in town and and I appreciate that And I'll do anything for the, for the, for the people and the kids in our town And I think they recognize that and they honored me with this And it was quite humbling.

John Boruk: 43:08

Well, working with kids is is been in your, i think it's just it's in your blood and something that you enjoy because you're wearing a shirt little t-shirt the Bizzuffie Karate and Achievement Center, which is right there in Defford. So if you're talking about implementing structure and discipline and and a sort of a regimen attitude, that's where it all starts And that's what a lot of parents do is is they? they get them into karate to to learn all of that. you know, authoritative figure, discipline, and I think if you have a child at any age, especially at the young age, you know they call them they're different names little dragons, whatever they are but karate. karate is such a good place to start before they decide to branch off and to do any sport.

Don Bozzuffi: 43:58

Sure, i, every now and then I'll sit the kids down and I'll make them understand. I'll say what, why do you come to martial arts? What do you want that of it? And most of them will say, oh, i want to learn how to fight, oh, i want to learn how to protect myself. I said, okay, i says how about the discipline and the respect that that that could improve your life? I said how many fights have you been in? Everybody raise your hand if you've been in five fights. Nobody raised Four, three, two, one. And very few kids have been in a fight. But how many times in your life have you had to have respect or discipline? That's the important things here, not the fighting. They'll teach you how to protect yourself, but it goes far beyond that and it's all up here in your head. And they? you'd be surprised how these young kids understand everything you're telling them and they just soak it up like a sponge.

John Boruk: 44:54

But that's the age in which they're very susceptible to learning. Those are the very, those are the very key years and their development, where they are learning, they are understanding, they're hearing what you're saying and as adults, you know it's probably in one ear out the other. With them, it stays and it sticks with them. Right, it does.

Don Bozzuffi: 45:14

And you know I'll teach them, okay, what I want you to do. Instead of going home tonight and saying, dad or mom, i want you to call them sir or ma'am. And they're like huh, and the someone the parents will come to me and says It's really weird, he calls me sir. Now I'm like, well, that's good, that's, that's the respect, yeah, you know. And so they get it. And and those that do get it and want to And want to advance, oh, they get so good at it and that could be part of their life. That's the path that they're gonna follow and have respect and discipline.

John Boruk: 45:49

Yeah, how long have you had the karate studio now?

Don Bozzuffi: 45:52

This karate studio I opened in 2017, but I've been doing it most my life tongue pseudo About 30 years, but I started in judo when I was 12.

John Boruk: 46:01

Yeah, what keeps you going between little league president and karate studio? I take it that's not even your full-time job. You probably do something else, right? Yes, i mean, that's what people don't understand about officiating is that until recently and when I say recently, like 15, 20 years ago even NFL officials had full-time jobs because There was, they didn't get paid enough Until they redid their collective bargaining agreement in a fell, they had separate full-time jobs. Officiating was not a full-time job in the national football league exactly. So you can't expect that at any level that this is a full-time gig. They, they have to. They love it. They're doing it because they love it, but they also have to have a job to supplement what they're doing.

Don Bozzuffi: 46:52

That's, that's what you almost have to remember yes, you do, and and I Do it because I love the kids. I love seeing the impact that I could have on a child and and it's very rewarding and I have kids that'll come up to me after class and just hug me and it's like It just melts me and it's like that's what it's all about, that these kids Understand we're trying to help them to improve their life. And it be a baseball, be its soccer, be a karate They look up to you and I tell my coaches, when we give the Rutgers course, i say these kids are hanging on every word. You say don't think they're not and you're special Because you could say nothing wrong to them. So make sure that what you're telling is the right thing, right thing to do.

John Boruk: 47:42

Yeah, they'll take it to heart, don Bazzotti, president of The Defford little league and as his own karate of studio. Thank you so much for coming in. This has been great been a lightning Educational. I think that a lot of parents will certainly take a lot of this to heart, and maybe there's some little leagues out there that'll adopt what you're doing, since it seems to be working. It's, it's. It seems to be a deterrent.

Don Bozzuffi: 48:06

So far, so far, and if not, like I said, do something. Doesn't have to be what I'm doing, but be proactive and do something be proactive.

John Boruk: 48:15

Yeah, absolutely All right, don. Thanks so much. We're gonna end our this episode, as we always do every single week, with our quote of the week This week. surround yourself with those who tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. Thank to everybody once again. If you get a chance, give us a review. Those reviews go a long way in terms of moving us up the charts. Subscribe to us and every time we get a new episode out, you'll be notified. You can listen to it And then give us that review. Well, so anyway, thanks to Don, and thanks to all of you for listening out there.