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ALABAMA Section 1. For purposes of this act, a "sports official", is a person at a sports event who enforces the rules of the event, such as an umpire or referee, or a person who supervises the participants, such as a coach. A "sports event" includes any interscholastic or intramural athletic activity in a primary, middle, junior high, or high school, college, or university, any organized athletic activity sponsored by a community, business, or nonprofit organization, any athletic activity that is a professional or semiprofessional event, and any other organized athletic activity in the state. Section 2. (a) A person commits the crime of harassment of a sports official if he or she commits the crime of harassment as provided for by Section 13A-11-8, Code of Alabama 1975, and the victim is a sports official performing official duties and the harassment is a result of the official performing his or her official duties. Harassment of a sports official is a Class B misdemeanor. (b) A person commits the crime of menacing a sports official if he or she commits the crime of menacing as provided for by Section 13A-6-23, Code of Alabama 1975, and the victim is a sports official performing official duties and the menacing is a result of the official performing his or her official duties. Menacing a sports official is a Class A misdemeanor. (c) A person commits the crime of assault of a sports official in the third degree if he or she commits the crime of assault in the third degree as provided for by Section 13A-6-22, Code of Alabama 1975, and the victim is a sports official performing official duties and the assault is a result of the official performing his or her official duties. Assault of a sports official in the third degree is a Class C felony. (d) A person commits the crime of assault of a sports official in the second degree if he or she commits the crime of assault in the second degree as provided for by Section 13A-6-21, Code of Alabama 1975, and the victim is a sports official performing official duties and the assault is a result of the official performing his or her official duties. Assault of a sports official in the second degree is a Class B felony. (e) A person commits the crime of assault of a sports official in the first degree if he or she commits the crime of assault in the first degree as provided for by Section 13A-6-20, Code of Alabama 1975, and the victim is a sports official performing official duties and the assault is a result of the official performing his or her official duties. Assault of a sports official in the first degree is a Class A felony. Section 3. Although this bill would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further requirements and application under Amendment 621 because the bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime. Section 4. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following upon its passage and approval by the Governor, or upon its otherwise becoming a law. ARKANSAS Arkansas Cod. Ann. Section 5-13-209
provides: Any person, with the purpose of causing physical injury
to another person, who shall strike or otherwise physically abuse
an athletic contest official immediately prior to, during, or immediately
following an interscholastic, intercollegiate, or any other organized
amateur or professional athletic contest in which the athletic contest
official is participating shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
California Penal Code Section
243.8 provides: (a) When a battery is committed against a sports
official immediately prior to, during, or immediately following
an interscholastic, intercollegiate, or any other organized amateur
or professional athletic contest in which the sports official is
participating, and the person who commits the offense knows or reasonably
should know that the victim is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, the offense shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "sports official" means nay
individual who serves as a referee, umpire, linesman, or who serves
in similar capacity but may be known by a different title or name
and is duly registered by, or a member of a local, state, regional
or national organization engaged in part in providing education
and training to sports officials. (Adopted October 5, 1991)
Section 1. Amend § 614, Title 11 of the Delaware
Code, by striking the existing language and substituting in lieu
thereof the following:
(b) For purposes of this Section, the words ‘sports official’ shall mean any person who serves as a registered, paid or volunteer referee, umpire, line judge or acts in any similar capacity during a sporting event. For purposes of this Section, the words, ‘lawful performance of duty’ means the time immediately prior to, during and/or immediately after the sporting event.(c) Whoever violates subsection (a) of this Section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Upon conviction for a second or subsequent offense under this Section, such person shall be guilty of a Class G felony. Notwithstanding Chapter 42 of this Title, such person shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $2,350. In addition to the fines imposed by this subsection, any person who is guilty of Abuse of a Sports Official shall be prohibited from participating in and/or attending any organized sporting event for a period of not less than three (3) months nor more than twelve (12) months.(d) Except as provided in § 922 of Title 10, and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Court of Common Pleas shall have original jurisdiction to hear, try and finally determine any violation of this Section, and any other misdemeanor violation of any offense set forth in this Title which was allegedly committed during the same incident. Prosecution under this Section shall not preclude a separate charge, conviction and sentence for any other crime set forth in the Code."
FLORIDA Section 1. Section 784.081 Florida Statutes is amended to read:
Assault or battery on specified officials or employees; reclassification
of offenses. a) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the
second degree to a felony of the first degree. (3) An assault, aggravated assault, battery or aggravated battery upon a sports official shall be reclassified pursuant to subsection (2) only if such offense is committed upon the sports official when he or she is actively participating as a sports official in an athletic contest or immediately following such a contest. Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2004.
Statute 16-5-23 provides: IDAHO The Idaho legislature adopted Concurrent Resolution No. 32 in March 2001. The resolution read: Be it resolved by the legislature of the state of Idaho: WHEREAS, sports participation has become part of American life ingrained into the consciousness of society; WHEREAS, sporting events have components essential to their survival including the players, coaches and fans. In addition, and in some sense most importantly, there must be officials to enforce the rules of the game and judge potential disputes between participants on the field; WHEREAS, many officials volunteer their time or receive only minimal compensation. Many officials participate out of a sheer love of the game and to teach children who play the game the valuable lessons that can be learned through participating in sports. Those lessons include that of sportsmanship, working as a team and working within the rules of the game to achieve a common goal; WHEREAS, sports officials act as on-field judges for their respective sports and as neutral participants who have no stake in the outcome of the game. Officials should be afforded protection from assaults and other negative reactions by participants, coaches and fans; WHEREAS, increasingly, sports officials are subjected to verbal and even physical assault by disgruntled fans as well as certain coaches and players. That trend follows a growing trend in recent years that, at its foundation shows a lack of respect for authority figures, WHEREAS, children are exposed to media displays of professional sports heroes and are compelled to emulate their heroes. Unfortunately, children may also try to emulate them when they act in a negative fashion. If professional athletes are not reprimanded for assaultive behavior against sports officials, that gives the impression that verbally and physically assaulting officials is socially acceptable; WHEREAS, it is not enough that each state must wait for one of its sports officials to be seriously attacked or beaten before its government takes action to stop this practice. Players, coaches and fans should be deterred from assaulting officials by local authorities handing out more severe penalties. That would ensure that the fans, especially young children, realize that it is not acceptable to attack an official; WHEREAS, the sports officials that give their time and energy to officiate games deserve our collective respect and must have complete confidence that they will be able to carry out their responsibilities in a safe environment. As a society, we must act on the belief that respect for authority, whether you agree with it or not, is critical to living, working and playing together. Sports needs to be a beacon, highlighting positive accomplishments and the need for sportsmanship and fair play. Although education continues to be important, recent trends point out the need for strong sanctions against those who engage in bad behavior at sporting events. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session of the Fifty-sixth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, calling on all school districts, little league programs, high school, college and recreational programs, along with law enforcement and prosecutors, to do all they can to put an end to the increased threats and batteries on sports officials and to prosecute to the full extent of the law. (Adopted March 2001) ILLINOIS HB4023 Section 5. The Criminal Code of 1961 is amended
by changing Section 12-2 as follows: (720 ILCS 5/12-2) (from
Ch. 38, par. 12-2) Sec. 12-2. Aggravated assault. (a) A person commits
an aggravated assault, when, in committing an assault, he: HB4120 Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by changing Section 5-5-3 as follows: (730 ILCS 5/5-5-3) (from Ch. 38, par. 1005-5-3) Sec. 5-5-3. Disposition. a) Every person convicted of an offense shall be sentenced as provided in this Section. (11) The court shall impose a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for a second or subsequent upon a person convicted of or placed on supervision for battery when the individual harmed was a sports or coach at any level of competition and the act causing harm to the sports official or coach occurred within an athletic facility or within the immediate vicinity of the athletic facility at which the sports official or coach was an active participant of the athletic contest held at the athletic facility. For the purposes of this paragraph (11), "sports official" means a person at an athletic contest who enforces the rules of the contest, such as an umpire or referee; "athletic facility" means an indoor or outdoor playing field or recreational area where sports activities are conducted; and "coach" means a person recognized as a coach by the sanctioning authority that the sporting event. Kentucky Section 1.KRS 508.025
reads: (c) intentionally causes or attempts to cause physical injury
to a sports official: 1. Who was performing sports official duties
at the time the physical injury or attempt to cause physical injury
was perpetrated; or 2. After the sports official performs official
duties at an athletic event, if the physical injury or attempt to
cause physical injury occurs within the confines or the immediate
vicinity of the athletic facility at which the athletic event occurred.
Section 2. For the purposes of this section, "athletic contest official"
means an independent contractor who serves as a referee, umpire,
linesperson, timekeeper, coach, or any person who serves in a similar
capacity but may be known by other titles and is duly registered
as a member of a local, state, regional, or national organization
which is engaged in part in providing education and training to
"athletic contest officials." Note: Enactment of this bill provides
and makes the assault of a sports official an offense in the third
degree which is a Class D felony.
Louisiana Rev. Stat. Ann. Section
14-34-4 provides: (A)(1) Battery of a school athletic contest official
is a battery committed without the consent of the victim when the
offender has reasonable grounds to believe the victim is a school
contest official. (2) For purposes of this section, "school athletic
contest official" means any referee, umpire, coach, instructor,
administrator, staff person, or school or school board employee
of any public or private secondary school while actively engaged
in conducting, supervising, refereeing, or officiating of a school
sanctioned interscholastic athletic contest. (B)(1) Whoever commits
the crime of battery of a school athletic contest official shall
be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500) and imprisoned
not less than fifteen days nor more than six months without benefit
of suspension of sentence. (2) The court in its discretion, may
suspend the imposition of sentence and place the offender on probation
with the condition that he shall serve two days in jail or perform
five days of community service work. Failure to successfully complete
the community service work, as determined by the supervisor or the
program to which he is assigned, may result in revocation of probation.
Minnesota Chapter 128C.08 Subdivision
2 states: "Any person who assaults a sports official in connection
with an interscholastic athletic activity may be excluded from attending
an activity for up to 12 months."
Montana Code Ann. Section 45-5-211
provides: (1) A person commits the offense of assault upon a sports
official if, while a sports official is acting as an official at
an athletic contest in any sport at any level of amateur or professional
competition, the person: (a) purposely or knowingly causes bodily
injury to the sports official; (b) negligently causes bodily injury
to the sports official with a weapon; (c) purposely or knowingly
makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with
the sports official; (d) purposely or knowingly causes reasonable
apprehension of bodily injury in the sports official. (2) A person
convicted of assault upon a sports official shall be fined an amount
not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or be imprisoned in
the county jail for any term not to exceed six months, or both.
NEVADA
Assembly Bill No. 474—Committee on Judiciary 2. A person convicted of an assault shall be punished: (a) If paragraph (c) or (d) of this subsection does not apply to the circumstances of the crime and the assault is not made with the use of a deadly weapon, or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, for a misdemeanor. (b) If the assault is made with the use of a deadly weapon, or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. (c) If paragraph (d) of this subsection does not apply to the circumstances of the crime and if the assault is committed upon an officer, a provider of health care, a school employee, a taxicab driver or a transit operator who is performing his duty or upon a sports official based on the performance of his duties at a sporting event, and the person charged knew or should have known that the victim was an officer, a provider of health care, a school employee, a taxicab driver , [or] a transit operator [,] or a sports official, for a gross misdemeanor, unless the assault is made with the use of a deadly weapon, or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, then for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. (d) If the assault is committed upon an officer, a provider of health care, a school employee, a taxicab driver or a transit operator who is performing his duty [,] or upon a sports official based on the performance of his duties at a sporting event by a probationer, a prisoner who is in lawful custody or confinement or a parolee, and the probationer, prisoner or parolee charged knew or should have known that the victim was an officer, a provider of health care, a school employee, a taxicab driver , [or] a transit operator [,] or a sports official, for a category D felony as provided in NRS 193.130, unless the assault is made with the use of a deadly weapon, or the present ability to use a deadly weapon, then for a category B felony by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
New Jersey Stat. Ann. Section
2C:44-1 (a) provides in part: In determining the appropriate sentence
to be imposed on a person who has been convicted of an offense,
the court shall consider the following aggravating circumstances:
(8) The defendant committed offense against a police officer or
other law enforcement officer, correctional employee or fireman,
acting in the performance of his duties while in uniform or exhibiting
evidence of his authority, the defendant committed the offense
against a sports official, athletic coach or manager, acting in
or immediately following the performance of his duties or because
of the person's status as a sports official, coach or manager.
New Mexico statutes provide:
1) "in the lawful discharge of his duties" means engaged in
the performance of the duties of a sports official, beginning
when the sports official arrives at a sports event and ending
when a sports official returns to his residence or business
following a sports event; and
North Carolina General Stat.
Section 14-33(b)(9) provides in part: (b) Unless his conduct
is covered under some other provision of law providing greater
punishment, any person who commits assault, assault and battery,
or affray is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment
for not more than two years, or both such fine and imprisonment
if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray
he: (9) Commits an assault and battery against a sports official
when the sports official is discharging or attempting to discharge
official duties at a sports event, or immediately after the
sports event at which the sports official discharged his duties.
A "sports official" is a person at a sports event who enforces
the rules of the event, such as an umpire or referee, or a person
who supervises the participants, such as a coach. A "sports
event" includes any interscholastic or intramural athletic activity
in a primary, middle, junior high, or high school, college,
or university, any organized athletic activity sponsored by
a community, business, or nonprofit organization, any athletic
activity that is a professional or semiprofessional event, and
any other organized athletic activity in the State.
Oklahoma Stat. Ann. Tit. 21,
Section 650.1 provides: Every person who, without justifiable
or excusable cause and with intent to do bodily harm, commits
any assault, battery, assault and battery upon the person of
a referee, umpire, timekeeper, coach, official, or any person
having authority in connection with any amateur or professional
athletic contest is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding on e year or
by a fine not exceeding One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) or both
such fine and imprisonment.
Oregon Statutes provide: (1)
In addition to, and not in lieu of any other damages that may
be claimed, a plaintiff who is a sports official shall receive
liquidated damages in an amount not less than $500 but not more
than $1,000 in any action in which the plaintiff establishes
that:
Pennsylvania Cons. Stat. Ann. Section 2712 provides: (a) Offense defined. A person who violates section 2701 (relating to simple assault), where the victim is a sports official who was assaulted during a sports event or was assaulted as a result of his or her officials acts as a sports official, is guilty of assault on a sports official. (b) Grading. Assault on a sports official is a misdemeanor of the first degree. (c) Definitions. As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning given to them in this subsection: "Sports Event" --Any interscholastic athletic activity in a junior high, high school or college or university in this Commonwealth or any other organized athletic activity in this Commonwealth including a professional or semiprofessional event. "Sports Official"--A person at a sports event who enforces the rules of the event, such as an umpire or referee, or a person who supervises the participants, such as a coach. The term includes a trainer, team attendant, game manager, athletic director, assistant athletic director, president, dean, headmaster, principal and assistant principal of a school, college or university.
SOUTH CAROLINA SECTION 22-3-560, Code of Laws South Carolina, relating to jurisdiction and procedure in magistrates courts in assault and battery and other breach of the peace offenses, so as to increase the magistrates courts’ jurisdiction for all assault and battery offenses against sports officials and coaches to provide for a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding sixty days, or both.
TEXAS H.B. No. 716 AN ACT relating to
the punishment for assaults committed against certain sports
participants. Be it enacted by the legislature of the state
of texas section 1. Sections 22.01(c) and (e), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows: (c) An offense under Subsection
(a)(2) or (3) is a Class C misdemeanor, except that the [an]
offense [under Subsection (a)(3)] is:(1) a Class A misdemeanor
if the offense is [was] committed under Subsection (a)(3) against
an elderly individual or disabled individual, as those terms
are defined by Section 22.04; or(2) a Class B misdemeanor if
the offense is committed by a person who is not a sports participant
against a person the actor knows is a sports participant either:(A)
while the participant is performing duties or responsibilities
in the participant's capacity as a sports participant; or (B)
in retaliation for or on account of the participant's performance
of a duty or responsibility within the participant's capacity
as a sports participant. e) In this section: (1) "Family" has
the meaning assigned by Section 71.003, Family Code. (2) "Household"
has the meaning assigned by Section 71.005, Family Code. (3)
"Sports participant" means a person who participates in any
official capacity with respect to an interscholastic, intercollegiate,
or other organized amateur or professional athletic competition
and includes an athlete, referee, umpire, linesman, coach, instructor,
administrator, or staff member. State of Washington HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2003-4636 WHEREAS Sports participation has become
an integral part of American life ingrained into the consciousness
of society; and I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of Resolution 4636 adopted by the House of Representatives March 24, 2003.
West Virginia Section 61-2-15a provides: (a) If any person commits an assault as defined in subsection (b), section nine sect. 61-2-9(b) of this article, to the person of an athletic official during the time the official is acting as an athletic official, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than Fifty Dollars ($50) nor more than One Hundred Dollars ($100), and imprisoned in the county jail not less than twenty-four hours nor more than thirty days. (b) If any person commits a battery, as defined in subsection (c), section nine, sect. 61-2-9(c) of this article, against an athletic official during the time the official is acting as an athletic official, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars($100), and imprisoned in the county jail not less than twenty-four hours nor more than thirty days. (c) For the purpose of this section, "athletic official" means a person at a sports event who enforces the rules of that event, such as an umpire, referee, or a person who supervises the participants, such as a coach. |
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