Who We Are...Hall of ShameTestimonials

Who We Are...

Hello fellow officials.

It’s Wrong and we are getting squeezed out!

My name is Rex Mehrhoff and as I look at turning 60 years old I want to pass along my insights into being part of this ‘Official Supply Business’. I started serving our fellow officials in 1998 and knew in an instant that this is what I wanted to do the rest of my life. For me this was a ‘passion and a calling’ to serve umpires and referees across this great country. There is or were over twenty smaller companies just like ours that felt this same level of honor and appreciation at serving your needs. However, our efforts and ability to compete on a level playing surface for many of us smaller companies have been seriously undermined! The giants in our industry continue to write checks and abuse their influence by knocking on and being granted ‘special access’ to the doors of our state offices. These individuals simply have money that the rest of us do not have. They have these monies available not as a result of ethical business practices or successful business models, but rather as a result of their professional lives as a college football official, Professional Referee and/or as a Major League Umpire. Each of these individuals worked hard to climb to the top of their profession and are excellent officials at the high end college and professional levels. However, through their long lasting careers they have been fortunate to contact along the way many other key persons and administrators that are in positions to make state level decisions that in the end have severely limited and restricted YOUR ability to choose for yourself where to buy ‘Authorized Officials Apparel’. This normally includes shirts, jackets and caps with state logos. But in Florida it now includes the new black pants that football officials are REQUIRED to wear…with a small 2” FHSAA patch…that is ONLY available to purchase with one specific company!!!! Each of you, regardless of the state you live, should consider this act as an insult. It is like ‘they’ are saying…”you are not smart enough or capable of choosing the right items that are now required”! In today’s hard economical times you will directly benefit and get the most value from your hard earned dollar IF YOU HAVE MANY COMPANIES COMPETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS! Honestly…the pandering and backroom deals that go on at MANY of our High School state offices is sickening, immoral, unethical and even illegal! Many of you might think…”if these actions are not legal, why do we never read about this in printed articles like Referee Magazine?” First…please consider what companies advertise the most in this publication. So…Referee Magazine won’t touch this important topic with a 10 foot pole! It is not in their best interest! Unfortunately for small companies like ours the reality is ‘they know’ that we don’t have the time and/or financial capabilities to challenge these unlawful practices in a court of law.  Doing so would mean coming up with $40,000 in start-up retainer money for an attorney and then waiting for years or decades to address this transgression in court. THE BEST idea or standard would be to…keep ALL companies…big & small…OUT of the politics and everyday practices of our state high school offices!

I’m not stupid or naïve…I know all business are struggling in this bad economy…even the ‘big-boys’. My hope is that we all ‘make-it’. Again…at the core of this battle is ‘The Spirit of Competition’ and when presented fairly…the true value available to you…the customer! So…please…stand-up and make your opinions known and your voice heard the next time someone – anyone tells you…”you MUST buy a certain apparel item with a state logo through a certain business!!! IF…you don’t, in the near future, you are going to find you have less options, be paying higher prices and receiving less customer service. THESE 3 THINGS ALWAYS HAPPENS…ALWAYS…100% of the time! In this industry…YOUR HARD EARNED DOLLAR will be worth much less. And…the TRUTH IS…it’s only this way because we allowed it to get this way! Heaven forbid…we complain…we might get assigned less games if we stand-up to the ‘wrong person’. As a group...we must get back to the basics and guiding principals we all were hopefully taught. That is…FAIR COMPETITION is a good thing. And…after you have paid your taxes…NOBODY has the RIGHT TO TELL YOU WHERE TO SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY!!! If somebody says…”you need this cap adorned with this specific state logo” or anything close to this statement…SAY “GREAT…WHY DON’T YOU BUY IT FOR ME?”  I know this is not a practical response…but, somehow – somewhere we must stop this madness. YOU are loosing…your rights, your freedom, your ability to be an independent contractor and your purchasing power! And…small companies like ours are loosing the ‘chance to compete…fairly’ for your business. My hope is…that we can see and better understand that the lack of competition and the pandering actions of many of the self-serving state administrators that promote certain companies…IS THE PROBLEM! It is the exact SAME problem that exists today in D.C. and in our state capitols. Lobbyist that cater to the ‘Special Interest’ of only a select few…do so ON YOUR BACK…THROUGH YOUR WALLET and RESTRICT YOUR ABILITY TO PROVIDING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! IF a state wants to require all their officials to wear a certain logo…great. IF a state wants to make money off the suppliers for the right to apply their logo…great. And IF the state wants to protect the quality of the logo by supplying one approved digitized logo to each supplier who wants to offer the logo to umpires and referees…great. State by state these wants are reasonable and attainable. But…because these state organizations are tax payer funded, they are required and MUST ‘OPEN’ these opportunities to ANY and ALL businesses who want to participate! Stop…picking and choosing…Stop playing God and STAY out of our wallets!

Am I frustrated? That’s an understatement. I will make it in this business or I won’t. But…I am comforted and take great pride in knowing that over the past 13 years, those umpires and referees that called, stopped by or placed an internet order from us…did so because ‘IT WAS THEIR FREE CHOICE TO DO SO’! This is an important achievement to be proud of. Most of my competition can not make this same claim! There was not some group, local or state association saying “You must buy from Between The Lines” – Being offered and granted special rights and ‘exclusives’…IS NOT WHAT MAKES US GREAT. On the contrary…it is these flawed practices that have gotten us where we are today. And…we are in deep trouble! Challenge the ‘status quo’ – our very future may depend on it!

From the bottom of I heart…I wish each of you well and a big THANK YOU for all of you who has supported us through the years!

Sincerely – Rex Mehrhoff –Fellow High School Umpire & Referee

Warmest regards,

Rex Mehrhoff
Executive CEO & Box Boy - Smile!

Hall of Shame

As a sports referee or umpire, Integrity, Trust & Honesty are the biggest character attributes that are expected from us as officials. Over the past five years I have received many requests to send merchandise first with the promise that the check or money order will follow. I have heard some fantastic stories (and unfortunately believed them)! The best was from an umpire in MN about a fire where he lost everything. As it turns out…there was no fire. Now, I do not want to lose perspective regarding the small number of ‘bad apples’. The truth is 98% were responsible and paid their bill as promised. I appreciate your past business. However, the profit and time lost trying to collect from these individuals has forced us to discontinue sending any orders without receiving payment first. Not so long ago I used to think “If you can’t trust a fellow official…who can you trust!”... The below list represents a small group of people that should not be officiating. Their deceptive actions cast a negative stain over all other officials who understand the importance of living each day by being responsible and respectful to others!

Please understand…that some of the below individuals may have moved or may not be officiating anymore. But the fact remains…they lied, avoided contact letters and did not return phone messages. They hide in the shadows pretending to be ONE OF US.

To the rest of you…good luck and take care of your loved ones.

Best wishes – Rex Mehrhoff – Proud Owner – BTL

Testimonials From Fellow Officials