Parents, who harass referees at high school games or children’s sporting events, face new penalties for bad behavior - including up to 90 days in jail and mandatory community service, because of a new bill passed in the legislature. Is that necessary?
We create a lot of these “feel good” laws and many end up being difficult to enforce. Do we really need the new crime of harassment of school or recreation athletic contest officials? Do we really need a new crime and penalties for entering or remaining onsite at a school or recreation athletic event after being asked to leave? I submit that we already have laws on the books and should have enough civil discourse to handle both situations.
To get another perspective on this, I spoke with someone who played the game of football for many years, 12-year Saints offensive lineman and the Voice of the Black & Gold, Zach Strief. “I understand the purpose. I understand the issue with people going over the top with officials,” Strief explained. “And I believe the law actually reads that it applies to officials, coaches, administrators or general employees in charge of putting on the event. So that's even a janitor at a high school game.”
I think this could be a recipe for disaster. So does Zach. “So it's pretty far-reaching. I just think, legislatively, it's an overreach,” Strief continued. “I don't think it's necessary. I understand the desire to protect officials. I'm sure it's getting harder to get officials, because people don't want to take that type of abuse, but the law itself is so broad and so overreaching it's a recipe for disaster.”
This bill defines harassment as verbal or non-verbal behavior. That makes the call of guilt or innocence subjective. It's up to the individual himself to determine what’s threatening. Too many times, what’s “honesty” to one person is deemed a “threat” by another.
“It allows for a lot of situations that can be hard to police; that can become very damaging,” Strief agreed. “Again, I think we need to protect officials. There are laws in place to protect officials right now, like any other person.”
There is a portion of this law that both Zach and I agree with. If you've already been asked to leave a playground or facility and you come back, that's clear. You should be removed, and there should be sanctions, because you're already on notice.
Another thing that caught my eye, from a law enforcement standpoint, is that the home team typically hires security. The officer, who will be making this call, will be in the employ of the home team. What’s that old adage about home-cooking? It's just not going to cut both ways.
I like to think that our law enforcement officers will do the appropriate thing, but I'm not blind to the fact that with that dynamic, there’s a built in bias for one party. It just won’t be the same for both.
Zach Strief chimed in again, “I think this new law is destined to cause unnecessary harm to people in certain situations.” And, I can’t agree more. Bottom line, I think this new referee harassment law might do more harm than good.