Brett Lawrie throws helmet at Miller

[MD Longhorn]

LAWS ON ASSAULT OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL

LAWS ON ASSAULT OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL

By: Christopher Reinhart, Senior Attorney

You asked how many other states have specific crimes regarding assault of a sports official.

SUMMARY

We found 18 states with criminal laws regarding assault of a sports official. These states are: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.

These laws provide specific penalties either by creating a new crime or raising the penalty for one or more existing crimes when they are committed against a sports official. The laws vary in terms of what officials are covered and what levels of sports activities are covered. Some of these laws also cover coaches and other participants but we have not included that information in this report.

In addition to these criminal provisions, two states have civil statutes. Minnesota authorizes the Minnesota State High School League or a school board to ban someone from attending interscholastic activity for up to 12 months for assaulting a sports official. Oregon has a provision for liquidated damages of $500 to $1,000, in addition to any other damages, in civil cases for injuries suffered by a sports official.