I was questioning his reasoning. It's a classic case of argumentum ad verecundiam. If he wants to cite a stat to back up his argument, he should be able to vouch for its validity. The same applies to you.Actually it is higher than 50 percent. In 2015 only 25 percent of new 2014 referees recertified. The number one reason for not recetifying was they were tired of being yelled at by coaches and parents.
The actual number shouldn't matter. Abuse is abuse. 100% retention rate doesn't justify abuse. No more than 1%.