Here we go again...

[SRW]

Ugh...
Coach who attacked referee faces charges

[IRISHMAFIA]

Warned several times, thrown out of the game and then knocks the referee unconscious and they are only CONSIDERING charges?

I'm not big on ambulance chasers, but I hope someone convinces this kid to step forward and DEMAND charges. Not only is there the assualt on a sports official, but there should be a few other charges that could be drawn.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Warned several times, thrown out of the game and then knocks the referee unconscious and they are only CONSIDERING charges?

I'm not big on ambulance chasers, but I hope someone convinces this kid to step forward and DEMAND charges. Not only is there the assualt on a sports official, but there should be a few other charges that could be drawn.

Not to mention a healthy lawsuit!

[SRW]

I found the article in the local Corpus Christi newspaper here. There's a link in the upper-right to the video. Wow...

[WestMichBlue]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Warned several times, thrown out of the game and then knocks the referee unconscious and they are only CONSIDERING charges?

That is a legal position, Mike; it doesn't mean they are vasillating. The DA wants to make sure he has the right info and charges; he doesn't want to lose the case when he finally gets to court.

Oooh - a year in jail and four grand fine! Come on, Corpus Christi, throw the book as this SOB and send a message.

WMB

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by WestMichBlue

Oooh - a year in jail and four grand fine! Come on, Corpus Christi, throw the book as this SOB and send a message.

WMB

Sadly, that is throwing the book at him!!! That would be the maximum penalty allowed by law. That is where civil litigation could be more of a punishment. Just think of the grocery list of things that could come up in a civil suit: Medical bills plus pain and suffering from the no doubt serious injury incurred in the fray; the psychological scarring that this young man has suffered causing him to be afraid to set foot back on the field as an official, an avocation that he was hoping to persue the rest of his life, possibly making it to the pros (this would work a lot better with baseball or hockey than with football, but you get the idea), and the loss in all possible future earnings because of this fear to get back on the field and officiate. I am sure that a lawyer could come up with many more tangibles that could be injected in a lawsuit, one that would really make it costly on the offender.

[CecilOne]

1) From what I've heard, it is better to convict the person of criminal charges and then use that as evidence in the civil suit.

2) Why is assault and battery of a sports official a misdemeanor, but assault and battery on anyone else a felony?

3) If you officiate where there is no special law about sports officials, do not hesitate to use the local criminal law against an attacker. You are a person and, just because you are involved in a sport or in a controversial situation, there is no reason you are not entitled to the full protection of the law.

[Dakota]

I actually oppose special sports official laws. Just use the normal assault laws; they already cover everything necessary.