Royal Palm Beach resident Demetrius Sherrod maintains a unique niche in the world of sports. As a high school student growing up in the 1970s, he was a two-sport athlete at John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres. Today, he’s involved in four high school sports as a referee.
“At 170 pounds, I played offensive tackle and middle linebacker on the football team. On the basketball team, I played center and forward,” recalled Sherrod, now 66, who graduated from John I. Leonard in 1977 and has called Palm Beach County home since 1971. “Back then, I was 6-foot-2, and I could jump quite high.”
Nowadays, Sherrod remains deeply involved in the high school sports scene in Palm Beach County. He officiates high school football and girls volleyball in the fall; boys and girls basketball in the winter; and girls flag football and boys volleyball in the spring.
“I’ve been officiating high school basketball since 2006, tackle football since 2012, flag football since 2016 and volleyball since 2019,” Sherrod explained.
He has lost track of how many middle school, junior varsity and varsity games he has worked as an official, with a whistle hanging around his neck.
After graduating from John I. Leonard, he attended college in Mississippi, eventually graduating with a degree in psychology and mental health from Tougaloo College. Upon graduation, he returned to Palm Beach County, where he has stayed, and he has no plans to leave.
“I’m retired now after working for the State of Florida for 37 years in the criminal justice system,” Sherrod said. “I worked in the prisons, first as a correctional officer and finally as a contract manager.”
So, it would be accurate to say that Sherrod has been enforcing rules for people to follow his entire adult life — first in the prison system, and later on volleyball courts, basketball courts and the football gridiron.
Despite being retired from the criminal justice system, Sherrod enjoys keeping busy as a “whistle blower,” though exclusively in scholastic sports.
When he’s not enforcing the rules of a high school sports contest, he’s out playing golf three or four times a week at either the Village Golf Club, the Okeeheelee Golf Course or the Palm Beach National Golf Club.
“I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends,” Sherrod said. “When I’m not officiating, I love watching professional and collegiate sports, including tennis. I also enjoy bike riding, clocking some 26 miles on my longest ride.”
Sherrod is not the only member of his family who enjoys being a high school sports official.
“It has truly become a family affair, as I have two brothers, a nephew, and this year, with absolute joy, I am happy to bring my oldest daughter into the profession,” Sherrod said.
