5 minute read
PROFILES
Great Scot! What a Career He Has Had
By Steven L. Tietz
Recently retired Las Vegas soccer official and Scottish immigrant John Kennedy, 72, literally never turned down a game at any level during a 40-plus-year career. That means more than 50,000 matches by one estimate.
One epic weekend involved a pro game in Monterrey, Mexico, and a flight to Dallas for another tilt, then back home to Las Vegas for a prep contest on Monday.
“You bet I was tired,” he said of the aftermath.
At the heart of it all were the prep games. “Always,” he said. “The kids are what it’s all about. At that level, it’s all about education for me. If I could extend their education (about the game), that was reward enough.”
To that end, as a member of the Southern Nevada Officials Association (SNOA), he was assigned 17 Nevada state prep title games in his career.
That sort of dedication was rewarded in May when the Las Vegas Sun honored Kennedy with the Hank Greenspun Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual Standout Awards program.
The honor was voted on by coaches and administrators who understood Kennedy’s dedication to the kids.
“It was the first time they had honored an official,” said Vince Kristosik, president of the SNOA. “It’s really something. He was working all the time and when he had a rare free day, he would do a high school match if asked. He didn’t have to do that, but he did.”
Kennedy was stunned by the award.
“I’m an immigrant,” he said. “I came here in 1982 and my adopted city is honoring me. It’s just hard to describe how much that means to me. More than just about anything.”
Kennedy was inducted into the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
A defender as a player and visitor to Vegas, “Sin City” made a big impression on Kennedy, and he knew he’d make it home one day.
“I told (my mother), ‘One day, I’m going back for good,’” he said.
His involvement with soccer began with coaching. One day he yelled at an official. “He yelled back, ‘Why don’t you do this yourself?’ I figured if I couldn’t do it better, then I’d better shut my mouth.”
Kennedy thought about it. “I figured I knew what a foul was, and what a flop was,” he said. Quickly enough, he found out he could do the job, so much so that by the early ’80s, he was working high-level NCAA games, including two Division I finals.
His docket was always full after that. “I don’t think I ever missed an assignment,” he said.
He stepped down for personal reasons this year and he will be missed greatly, said Kristosik. “He’s an official we won’t be able to replace,” Kristosik said. “Everyone knew and trusted John.” Steven L. Tietz is an award-winning journalist from Milwaukee. *
John Kennedy proudly displays the Hank Greenspun Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by soccer coaches and administrators in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. Flying Solo if Needed
John Ottavino Brooklyn, N.Y.
Although John Ottavino knows he can’t solve the umpire shortage by himself, he is helping out the best he can. The father of New York Mets pitcher Adam Ottavino has been known to work as many as nine games a week.
Ottavino cited the pandemic as the primary reason for the shortage, but not the only reason.
“There have been assaults, there have been fights, there have been all sorts of bad stuff going on,” he told the Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance. “A lot of guys don’t want to put up with that nonsense.”
If Ottavino does get fed up, he has an option not available to many other umpires. He is a veteran TV and movie actor. His credits include roles on “NYPD Blue” and “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
SOURCE: STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
He Knows What’s Legal
Gary Copeland Waynesville, Ohio
Whether he’s involved in his real job — village manager and safety director/police chief — or his hobby — serving as a referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Professional Fighters League — Gary Copeland is all about enforcing rules.
Copeland has officiated matches for more than 20 years, across the country as well as in Brazil, Mexico, Greece and Cypress.
“I’m there to protect the fighters, enforce the rules and maintain action,” Copeland told the Butler County (Ohio) Journal-News.
He does three to four events a month, with each event holding 10 to 25 matches.
“I enjoy being a referee because it allows me to stay involved in the sport,” Copeland said.
SOURCE: BUTLER COUNTY (OHIO) JOURNAL-NEWS
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