KANSAS CITY, Mo. — MSHSAA referee Jeremi Barnes went viral last week after he posted a TikTok video of him breaking up an in-game scuffle.
26-year-old Kansas City, Missouri native Jeremi Barnes was refereeing a game between Missouri high schools Polo and West Platte when he was running to break up the scuffle and ended up accidentally falling and landing on one of the players.
Barnes was surprised about how popular the video became and reaching a national audience.
“It was definitely unexpected. At first, it was a bit embarrassing, but once I saw how much people were engaging with it and finding humor in the situation, I embraced it,” Barnes said. “It highlighted that even as referees, we are human too, and sometimes things don’t go perfectly.”
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The video gained a ton of traction, so much so that SportsCenter ended up posting it on social media. It also received over 400,000 views on TikTok and nearly 570,000 views in Instagram.
Barnes amassed nearly 20,000 followers over the next few days.
He posts videos of himself regularly mic’d up when he referees high school football games in the Missouri area, giving fans a unique perspective during the game.
“The idea came from wanting to give people a closer look at what it means to be an official, with the hope of inspiring more interest in the profession, especially among younger individuals. The best way to do that is by posting on social media,” Barnes continued.
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“Being a referee involves so much more than just making calls. By being mic’d up, I’m able to show a different side of officiating, one that most people rarely to get see.”
That video in particular and others have gone viral on social media. He has been refereeing since he was 15 years old.
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