[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by Texas Aggie

Jason, we aren't liable in a legal sense if someone gets injured, unless we are (probably grossly) negligent. You almost have to tell a coach something like, "stand here, and you won't get hurt; I promise" to be held negligent. The problem with someone asserting you didn't enforce a rule is, how do you define "enforce?" Is telling them once to get back enough? Do you have to physically push them back, and if so, every time they come out? Do you have to throw sideline warning, then infraction, flags on EVERY play they don't stay back on? Are they OK coming out on plays that don't end on their sideline?

There's a thousand questions to answer just like that. The bottom line is take care of business. If you need to warn, warn. If you need to flag, for either a warning or later for a foul, do so. But if a coach thinks they can sue an official for not enforcing a rule that coach broke, then they're crazy. That suit won't go anywhere in Texas.

I'm not a lawyer so I'm speculating on what I've heard in other cases. If there is evidence that a coach is on the field often during the game and you do nothing about it and later that coach is injured while being in that position, you could be found negligent for not enforcing the rules. It's not different than being aware of a player using illegal equipment (coach's liability) or the band being too close to the field and getting hit. It's a scary part of our job that most people don't know enough about.