McLean is Golden: Longtime referee receives prestigious award from NCHSAA
Junior McLean takes a look at his prestigious award presented by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. {Contributed photo/Kayla Thompson}
When Elijah McLean, Jr. was issued a challenge after a basketball game in the early 1980s, he had no inkling accepting it would lead him down a life changing path; one that would include joy, commitment, dedication, learning, adapting, travels across North Carolina and thousands of miles accumulated on a basketball court. As a culmination of his willingness to embrace the opportunity directly, McLean was presented with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s highest award given to officials, the Golden Whistle, on Tuesday, July 12.
Having served 33 years as a high school basketball referee, McLean was selected for the honor in his first year of eligibility. On his plaque, it states: “Elijah ‘Junior’ McLean is hereby presented with the Golden Whistle Merit Award, in recognizing of his exceptional leadership of the NCHSAA officiating program. With vision, courage and determination, his leadership has made North Carolina’s interscholastic officiating the national model.”
Who knew one conversation would lead to this? McLean recalls the exchange with ease.
“I had a basketball team in the men’s open league in High Point. We lost in the championship game and I was very upset with the officiating. I was complaining to the guy who was over parks and recreation, William Covington, Sr. and his response to me was, ‘Well, if you feel that way about it, why don’t you put the stripes on and make a difference?’”
So, was Covington the reason he traveled down this road? McLean confirmed, “Yes, I took him up on his challenge. He took me under his wings and taught me the game of officiating. I fell in love with it and have been doing it for 30-plus years. It was something that came at me out of the blue. The challenge drove me to try to be the best I could possibly be at doing this.”
According to Lexington City Schools District Athletic Director Ronnie Beverly, McLean has successfully met his goal.
“I can say on behalf of all high school athletic directors, whoever came into contact with Junior McLean has seen a professional at work. When he was an official, he was extremely cordial not only to the coaches and fans but he also used his skill set to teach young men and women the dos and don’ts, rights and wrongs of playing the game of basketball. Sportsmanship was probably one of the biggest tools in his tool belt. He believed in letting the players play, letting the coaches coach, letting the officials officiate and letting the game kind of handle itself. It’s been nothing but a pleasure to know him off the court as well as on to see his professionalism at hand. He’s deserving of the Golden Whistle award.”
It only takes a few minutes of conversing with McLean to understand while he is the one being celebrated for his accomplishments, he’s an advocate for the profession as well. Interwoven into his conversations about his experience, he shares insight, ideas and solutions to what he sees as current challenges within officiating.
McLean began his career as a referee in 1986. A decade later, he became a clinic leader to teach classes for participants studying to become certified officials. Having spent over three decades on the basketball court, McLean has witnessed many changes throughout the years.
Initially, referees only officiated either the girl's’ or boys’ games. The move to them serving as officials for doubleheaders would occur 10 years later. Basketball games used to be played only on Tuesdays and Fridays. Later, the NCHSAA approved teams to play three games a week, on any day.
For McLean, one of the most notable changes is the reverence, or lack thereof, that people have for officials now.
“When I first started officiating, the respect the official had was enormous. People respected what we do. This is just my opinion, the loss of respect started to happen because of AAU basketball. It was very good at one point for basketball then it got to the point where they would put anyone on the court to referee as long as they had officials. The majority of the AAU coaches are parents and they’re going to see the game through their own eyes versus what we see. In high school basketball, if a coach got out of line there was discipline by the conference and the school. Nobody’s disciplining AAU coaches.”
The High Point native also shared some thoughts on how the game could return to a place where everyone participating on the court matters.
“You can sit on the sideline and think you see it all. To be able to go on the court and apply what you see is a whole different world. I would tell any parent who has a kid participating in high school sports, before you decide you want to blast that official, really take a hard look at what this guy or girl has to do. Ask yourself, could you do it? No official comes to the game with the intent to miss calls.”
Knowing this, the Ragsdale High School graduate quickly learned in order to be efficient at his calling, he’d have to “have thick skin and become ‘deaf’ to the fans and coaches.” McLean noted he would address coaches when he had time and he always prided himself on being approachable to them.
Given the number of years spent as a basketball official (McLean retired in 2019 because he’d gotten to the point where he could hear the fans and coaches), he has been a witness to some moments forever etched into his memory. Amongst them are Chris Paul’s 61-point game (Paul’s grandfather, who was 61, had recently been murdered), a standing room only contest between Dudley High School and Northern Guildford High School and an intense contest between Wesleyan Christian Academy and Greensboro Day School.
He's also been an official for two state championship games, five private school championships, eight regional championships and countless sectional championships. In 2020, McLean was awarded the Dick Knox Distinguished Service Award by the Triad Basketball Officials Association for his “devoted service to and involvement with young student athletes.” His plaque states that the lives he’s touched during his career are a tribute to the positive influence of high school athletics.
Although he’s retired from officiating basketball, you can still find him in gymnasiums. McLean, a sales representative with Sampson Bladen Oil Company, attends games and evaluates officials for TBOA. When he’s not in the stands, you can find him on the court refereeing volleyball games, which he’s been doing for six years. This past season he served as an official in a third-round playoff game.
You may also see McLean on the diamond as he is a referee for softball as well. He’s been serving in this capacity for four years. In the spring, he was the official for a second-round game in the playoffs.
As you can tell, officiating is more than just something McLean does; it’s woven into the fabric of who he is. It’s a major reason he’s committed to helping to restore honor and grow the profession, especially on the basketball court.
“My philosophy has always been if you played the game of basketball, chances are you can become a basketball official. Right now, we’re in the process of trying to recruit as many officials as we possibly can because the numbers are dwindling down. The money isn’t where it needs to be right now. If we’re going to get people interested in officiating the game, two things have the change. The pay has to go up and we have to recruit people who really want to do it and have the desire in their heart.”
Despite the obstacles, changes and current direction of officiating, McLean, a husband and father of three, has no doubt that he has done and is doing what he was meant to do.
“I never thought I’d put 33 years of my life into this. I don’t regret one day of it. ‘Reffing’ high school basketball has been a blessing for me in my life. This Golden Whistle is not something I was striving to achieve but in receiving it, it’s just icing on the cake as far as my high school basketball officiating career. It lets me know I met the challenge from William Covington, Sr.”
Anyone interested in learning more about becoming an NCHSAA certified basketball official can contact McLean at (336)653-0977.
*All photos contributed by Kayla Thompson; and Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart for Davidson Local.
