Close. You won't see Violet or Laura getting in there -- they have instructed not to.

You're just as likely to get sued for grabbing a 16 y/o kid and pulling him away from a fight.

You're just as likely to get sued for grabbing a 16 y/o kid and leaving him exposed to a punch from the opponent.

Once the punches start getting thrown, nothing you do is going to be sue-proof, so take down numbers and stay out of the way. Keep blowing your whistle, use your voice, but I would be very wary of getting into the fray to break it up once it's started.

I agree completely.

Rule number one: NEVER put your hands on a player.

If I can get between them before they start swinging I will, but once the punches start, no way. As Adam said, use your whistle and voice.

And if I'm the away official I'm not going to go running into the fray, but will go near the table and instruct the scorer to write down the color/number of every player I see leave the bench and enter the court as I verbally recite them.

I try to imagine watching video footage of myself standing back and observing a fight, during a game under my jurisdiction... Lets say one kid is getting stomped, jumped by multiple offenders/beaten up seriously... Will observing a violent act and doing nothing, really keep our names off the lawsuit?
When the kid shows up to court severely injured, will the judge/ jury let me off the hook - because I didn't want to get hurt or was concerned about a lawsuit?

I willing to bet that the same litigious jerk that would sue you for pulling the kid away, will sue you if that same kid got hurt in the fight.
Notice the coach: pointing and seemingly blaming.
Go ahead and say to the suit happy lawyer and parent: "not it'. I'm betting, "You're it" - like it or not!

You might want to rethink what your scope of practice is as an official.

We are employed as game officials, not as trained police officers, security guards or bouncers, and acting as such would more likely open an official up to liability for acting outside their scope of practice. Just like we never render aid to a possibly injured player - that's the coach's and trainer's responsibility.

Maintaining order in the facility and providing adequate security is the responsibility of game management - even more so when fans get involved. The head coaches are responsible for their players, and the gym supervisor and security/police for everyone else.

Laura?

The suit may be equally likely either way (I'm not convinced, but I'm willing to concede that point for discussion.)

But it seems to me, from the perspective of a father who is not an actual lawyer, that the likelihood of a successful suit would be much higher if I put my hands on a kid as opposed to doing everything verbally and audibly to stop a fight.

Again, there's no way in hell I'm putting my hands on a kid to physically move him or her in this situation.

I think he meant Lauren Holtkamp.

Where is this written: "never touch a player"? Have there been lawsuits resulting from officials breaking up fights?
BTW: I do like whistles and yelling at players. I say, blow the whistle till their all deaf.
But... standing back and doing nothing like the L official in the video?

Yep. Lauren.

I don't think he was "doing nothing." I think he was observing what was happening and taking down numbers. C was doing the exact same thing on the other side of things.

Are we not the police of the game on the court w/ our number one job being: Player Safety?
I didn't say police the entire gym: just the safety of the players on the floor which is where I have jurisdiction.
When safety is number one; how do we justify ourselves by doing nothing?
Our high school rule book says: safety, fair play and sportsmanship is the reason we are there!

Where have there been lawsuits for not breaking up fights? As others have mentioned, 95% of us have never been trained in breaking up fights. You grab a player's arms and restrain him, then his opponent spots an opportunity. You grab a player's shoulder and accidentally grab her chest. You grab a player and pull him away from a fight and he trips and falls backwards, hitting his head on the floor.

Before you say these are all unlikely and you've never seen them; it's probably because the vast majority (an understatement) of officials do not get physically involved in a fight. And as unlikely as my scenarios are, they are more likely than some pissed off dad deciding to sue the officials for not stopping a fight combined with a lawyer willing to take the case on contingency combined with a judge/jury willing to find in favor of the plaintiff.

I'm keeping my hands off and advising others do the same. You do what you think is best.

Everyone has to do whatever they're most comfortable doing.
The T is old school - he's obviously got training or just instincts that say: "No way and not today".
The advice of "never touch a player" is not always appropriate. If I see a kid stomping a defenseless kids' head MMA Pride style - I defending the helpless. A kid gets his head rammed into that wall and goes down... go ahead an back away if you dare?
"Never touch a player" is an overstatement.
"Extreme caution and in rare instances"; is maybe more appropriate?