Corey Rockwell Explains What It's Like To Be A Professional Referee And What The PSRA Is Fighting For
Rockwell and his colleagues are currently locked out by the Professional Referee Organization.
Corey Rockwell was scheduled to be an assistant referee for LAFC versus the Seattle Sounders during Week One of Major League Soccer.
A rematch of last year’s Round One best-of-three playoff series–Rockwell’s last game of 2023–the marquee match certainly drew eyes.
But not Rockwell’s.
Rockwell only watched one game from opening weekend because the Professional Referee Organization locked out their referees after failing to come to terms on a new contract.
“I didn't want to watch it for the wrong reasons,” Rockwell said in an interview with The Blazing Musket. “And I knew if I were to watch, all I'm going to look for is referee errors and that's not going to help me and it's not going to help who I'm watching.”
The only game that Rockwell watched included a referee that he’s mentoring. He was blunt with the emerging talent.
“I told them I didn't agree with their decision, but I wanted them to be as great as possible now that they're out there,” Rockwell said.
Rockwell explained that he tuned into that game for the “right reasons.” He watched it hoping that all three teams – the home, away, and referee – had good performances.
In a lot of ways, this simple story says a lot about Rockwell.
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Rockwell began reffing soccer games when he was 16 years old. He loves the sport and played it throughout his life, including two years at Georgia Tech.
Since the college didn’t have a varsity program, Rockwell began to shift his attention to being a referee. Soon he found himself reffing over ten games a week, including tournaments on the weekend.
“While most of my friends were out at frat parties on Friday and Saturday nights, I was usually coming home with my referee gear,” Rockwell said.
He ascended the ranks as time went on, moving from college to the A-League before eventually getting an invite to the Nike Friendlies in Bradenton, FL. He did well at the tournament, earning a shot to call games during the MLS preseason.
Oddly enough, Rockwell met another person who was trying to make a name for himself in MLS – Chris Wondolowski. The two were neighbors in a hotel back in 2005 and they wished each other luck as they prepared for their big break.
Both individuals ended up making it to MLS. Wondolowski retired as the league’s top scorer with 171 goals while Rockwell has been an assistant referee for 399 total games (373 regular season), the most in league history.
“[Wondolowski] actually still remembers it fondly,” Rockwell said. “His wife and kids have their seats right behind me when I'm on AR one. I always give him a big hug before the game. The kids know me now that the family knows me, so I've kind of grown up with the family, I guess.”
Connections like this mean a lot to Rockwell, but they aren’t without sacrifice.
The 50-year-old still has a full-time day job, working as the head of internal audit at P.F. Chang’s. He said he spent 40 of 52 weekends on the road last year officiating professional and collegiate games, as well as participating in training camps.
Rockwell tries to make it to every major family function he can – including his children’s soccer practices and dance performances – but he misses many events due to his reffing commitments.
“I am not there for birthdays, anniversaries,” Rockwell said. “They're just simply missed. Now that's not to say they're not celebrated. My family has kind of gotten used to it. So we will always celebrate a birthday, but it will almost never be on the day that the birthday falls.
“There are some non-negotiables where I'll say, okay, I'll block out an MLS weekend, I'll block out a FIFA weekend at the time. But I have missed quite a bit. I've missed a lot of firsts, unfortunately. But that kind of goes with the territory and that's why I try to be as supportive and as present as possible during the week.”
Rockwell also has to dedicate time during the week to make sure he’s ready to make the difficult calls. In a recent social media post, he noted that he was in the gym at 10:30 pm after working an 11-hour day. He goes to the gym four or five days a week so he can keep up with the speed of an MLS game.
Rockwell said that he can’t just work out on Fridays, making a comparison to how people approach the dentist.
“You have to brush your teeth a bunch, right?” Rockwell said. “You can’t just brush an hour before you get there.”
The workouts vary depending on the day. Sometimes he incorporates dumbbells and other times it’s about sprints and core.
“In order to hang with those 25-year-old athletes in their primes and the rest of the star athletes in MLS, I need to make sure I can run as close as possible to their top speed, and that's really what it takes,” Rockwell said.
“I can't use the excuse of ‘I'm 50.’ The players don't want to hear that. The players just want to see that I'm keeping up with them and able to be physically fit enough to hang with them. It doesn't matter what my age is.”
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The hard work has paid off for Rockwell, who will soon ref his 400th game. He’s become a reliable assistant referee in MLS. He explains that Video Review has only been used to overturn two of his calls, which is a source of pride.
He’s also done a lot to earn the respect of fans, which isn’t easy since referees are often criticized. He remembers a trip to Foxboro when he spent an extra long time checking the net in front of New England Revolution fans. The effort resulted in the fans chanting, “Check the net” with one person saying, “This is a premium check right here.”
Rockwell played into it, exaggerating the work and signaling to fans that he couldn’t hear them. The video posted by The Rebellion has gotten over a million views.
The veteran referee has also given away his game-used cards. This was a well-meaning gesture meant to inspire young fans to become referees one day. It didn’t work out that way one time in Seattle.
“I just threw my card into the stands and it went to a dad,” Rockwell said. “I'd given a red card that game to Ozzy [Alonso] for an elbow. And some fan posted on Twitter that this was the red card that the linesman gave and it was not too good. It was a great call that I made, but it made the Sounders fans think I was showing off the fact I gave a red card.
“So sometimes that doesn't come in good use. But I've learned and I've been more selective about who I hand them to.”
Understanding how to interact with fans is a skill referees learn with time. Rockwell now understands the types of people he can interact with during a game. The drunk, angry fan simply isn't going to be convinced, but others can be swayed with a simple face or wink.
The calls are important, but there’s so much more that goes into reffing, including fitness and relationships. This is why Rockwell was in the gym preparing for Week Two of MLS even though his itinerary was changed days earlier. This is also why he spoke to a replacement referee before he went out to do a game.
“I said, hey, you made your decision and I don't agree with you, but I need to make you as successful as possible,” Rockwell said. “I said, here's your pep talk, here's what you need to do. And then behind the scenes, I called the people in the supporters’ group that I know and I said, hey, holler his name as he's warming up and make him feel okay.
“And he texts me after the game. He's like, I think your buddies found out who I was because they were hollering and saying, ‘Hi so and so’ before the game. So I was doing some behind-the-scenes work to really make him feel as comfortable as possible.
“So the fans, I love every city, I try to embrace them. There are my go-to fans in every city. And it's really a special part of MLS and that's why I love this league so much.”
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A native of Phoenix, AZ, every game is an away game for Rockwell. Last year he refereed over 30 games but right now he’s at home because PRO has locked out members of the Professional Soccer Referees Association. Negotiations are ongoing with Rockwell noting that any proposal is closely analyzed as the referees will “look at it very objectively and go section by section.”
For Rockwell, it all comes down to pay, though health insurance is another issue.
“I think those are the top two items that would help a lot,” Rockwell said. “So from my standpoint, I have a full-time job. All the full-time referees in the center get health insurance. In fairness to PRO and MLS, they have it. Me, I get it through my company.”
“But there are several ARs – I can’t tell you what the percentage is – that only referee, like Katy Nesbitt and Brooke Mayo, and some of those who are so focused on their refereeing craft that they don't have a full-time job because they are doing this full time. They can't get health insurance through PRO right now. And that's one of the things we want to fight for, for those that want to be so dedicated to their craft, that they give up the full-time job.”
Rockwell cites Nesbitt as a good example. The former college professor and doctor is the first female ever to do a knockout game in a men’s World Cup. She also worked the final of the women’s World Cup last year. Yet, according to Rockwell, she “can’t get health insurance through the league.”
In terms of salaries, Rockwell explained that he and other PSRA referees are trying to raise the floor for every referee out there. They’re also trying to encourage more people to become referees.
He said that he had more games as an assistant referee last year than anyone else and his take home pay was approximately $41,000.
“Now, yes, they were offering to bump that up a little bit from a percentage standpoint, but 20% of $40,000 still doesn't get you too much,” Rockwell said.
“So maybe fans are watching saying, hey, high forties is a great salary for an AR that's gone 40 weekends a year. But then there's also a lower level for those that are less than 50 career games. They're getting a lot less than what I am getting for my take-home pay.
“We want to bring everybody's salary up and make it more attractive to not only pursue a career in refereeing, but also for the ones that have the veteran status like me and the middle folks so that they get properly compensated.”
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Rockwell was supposed to be an assistant referee for this past weekend’s game between Inter Miami CF and Orlando City, another big one for the league, but he was home once again instead of running the sidelines.
It’s tough for him because he loves being out there interacting with coaches, players, and fans. He’s hoping that a resolution comes soon.
“If I was just looking short-term, I would be out there next weekend refereeing my 400th overall game,” Rockwell said. “But I am looking long-term, not just for me, but for the referees that will take my place someday. They are going to be the ones that benefit more than I will.
“I can’t wait to come back. I miss the MLS fields so much, and I hope to be with the players, coaches, and fans as soon as possible. Until then, I will continue training for that first game in 2024, whenever that may be.”