Sports officials live in a somewhat lonely world.
For while they share a bond as tight as any other professional group, working countless hours away from the game refining their craft, theirs is a job also subject to the often critical evaluation of anybody with enough money to buy a ticket to a high school game, or with enough time to become involved with youth sports.
Having worn a whistle for more than a decade before being drawn back to the world of the ink-stained wretches simply reinforces here an understanding of the work and professional pride needed to become a tournament official.
Occasionally the line between official and amateur evaluator — i.e., fan — becomes overly blurred, and rarely with a good result.
Earlier this month a York, Maine, hockey father was arrested for assault for allegedly punching and verbally abusing a referee after a youth game in Exeter, N.H.
That’s the exception rather than the rule, to be sure, but the threat of such incidents has prompted the introduction of LD 727, “An Act to Protect Sports Officials,” for action by the Maine Legislature.
The bill creates the Class D crime of assault on a sports official, with a maximum fine of $4,000. This crime would not apply to a person officiating at a professional sporting event.
The bill was introduced at the request of the National Association of Sports Officials, an organization that has been active in getting such legislation passed nationwide. Currently similar laws are on the books in more than 10 states.
State Sen. William Diamond, D-Windham, said his goal in introducing the legislation is primarily with public awareness in mind.
“Parents and fans sometimes get so involved that they forget about what the situation is at hand,” he said. “It’s a game. Sometimes parents feel like their child is headed for the NBA or NHL, and they forget that it is just a game and get caught up in situations, and unfortunately they translate that right at the referee.”
This isn’t the first time such a bill has come before the Legislature, according to Maine basketball commissioner Peter Webb, who recalled a similar effort about 10 years ago.
He also recalled a joint resolution adopted by the House and Senate in 2007 “to raise awareness about appropriate behavior at sporting events and to ensure the safety of school athletic contest officials, players, coaches and fans.”
That resolution resulted from a bill that would have made assaulting a school athletic official a Class C felony, though that part was set aside.
And while Webb isn’t eager to fine or jail sports fans for their overzealousness, he’s seen enough vitriol directed against officials in his sport — including a 20-ounce bottle of cola thrown onto the court at the Bangor Auditorium during one tournament week several years ago — not to assume it won’t happen again.
“For Maine it probably would best be described as proactive,” he said. “But it’s wrong to think we won’t be affected by these types of things. And you’ve got to remember that most of these [sporting events] are being held in the name of education. It’s a school event, it isn’t a rock concert.”
Truly it’s the spirit of competition and love of the game that bring players, coaches and sports officials to their arenas of choice.
That legislation must be considered to protect all involved from those who would take their rooting interests too far might seem an overreaction to some, but generally speaking, it’s merely a sign of the times.
