No more 'kill the ump': NH bill to protect sports officials gains support

CONCORD — New Hampshire state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, used one of NCAA basketball star Caitlin Clark’s recent games as a reason why his bill to protect sports officials is imperative.

“The young woman who plays for the University of Iowa, the scoring leader of the world, after she made a basket, the crowd ran onto the floor and knocked her over. She could’ve had a permanent injury, just because of this crazy behavior,” D’Allesandro said. “These are graphic illustrations of what’s happening, the chaos that’s entering our athletic contests.”

While Clark is a player, not a referee, D’Allesandro said bad behavior creates dangerous situations for sports officials and discourages younger people from becoming referees or game officials.

D'Allesandro's Senate Bill 327 would create penalties for those who assault or harass sports officials. It passed the Senate in early March and, on Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to recommend the bill ought to pass. The committee also approved an amendment to the bill that would add stalking and criminal mischief as criminal activities that would be punished under this bill.

Growing movement to protect sports officials across the country

Kevin Flynn, a member of the Baseball Umpires Association who previously testified in support of the bill in front of the Senate, said 13 other states are also looking at legislation that deals with the protection of sports officials.

“Why now?” he asked. “The bill’s time has come. It’s an issue that’s been long festering in our sports culture: 'kill the ump,' coming out, bumping the chests, kicking dirt on the umpire. .... It’s just a general loss of civility.”

More: NH sports officials take 'terrible' abuse. New law would penalize those who attack refs.

Twenty-two other states already have laws to protect sports officials and penalize offenders, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Flynn, who lives in Hopkinton, said in New Hampshire, 11% of sports officials report having been assaulted during or after a game and 40% have been made to feel unsafe.

SB 327 would establish a fine of up to $1,000 for those who commit criminal activity, such as assault, criminal threatening or harassment. Simply yelling at a referee about a perceived bad call wouldn’t be covered by this bill.

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Perpetrators could also be prohibited from acting as participants in a sports event within the state for up to a year. If the perpetrator was a parent of an athlete, this means they could be banned from watching their child’s games for that amount of time.

Compared to other states, Flynn said SB 327 is a “very modest and elegant” bill that “sends a powerful message.”

Bad behavior goes beyond sports

Rep. Marjorie Smith, D-Durham, asked the committee why they were only focused on bad behavior in sports.

“What makes me unhappy today is why are we looking at sports and not looking at any other gathering of people where the behavior is not behavior that you or I would have ever seen a number of years ago, whether it’s in a theater, a concert, or a political gathering, where there’s things said, there’s physical assault, there’s verbal assault,” she said. “That is the world we’re living in right now, and it’s wrong.”

In the committee hearing, she added that there should be legislation protecting members of the Legislature from “egregious comments or threats made by our colleagues.”

While she acknowledged that sports are important, especially in the development of children, she said this problem is the “tiniest component” of problems the world is facing right now.

Stuart Dedopoulos, an attorney from Durham and sports official, said sports officials are unique because their assaulters can come back to the arena again without proper safeguards.

“You might be right that other bills could designate other people as victims,” he said. “But we think for us, the time has come to have that little tool in the toolbox that people know about where they’re not coming back if they don’t behave properly.”

SB 327 will now go to the full House for a vote at a date to be determined.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH bill seeks to protect sports officials from abuse by parents, fans