Nobody does “Friday Night Lights” better than Texas, but make sure the next game you attend, you keep things respectful.
Governor Greg Abbott recently signed into law Senate Bill 2929, which makes it illegal to heckle high school athletes in Texas and gives officials jurisdiction to “eject anyone causing a disturbance in the game without warning.”
Beaumont ISD parent Velvet Malbrough says this law could do more harm than good, however, as she believes it gives officials too much power to determine what forms of heckling have gone too far.
She told Chron, “Removing someone without warning takes away that fairness. While I have seen fan behavior become more aggressive over the years, I believe granting referees the authority to eject spectators at any moment without warning will create more conflict in the long run rather than less.”
Executive director of the Texas Association of Sports Officials Michael Fitch believes the opposite. He says, “Fans have always been and can be a little over the top.
“Part of it is what we would expect. You know, you can complain about a call, but over the last few years, it's gotten much worse."
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