Sports referees could get protections from abusive fans under proposed Kentucky law – Courier Journal
Three Kentucky legislators plan to introduce a bill in the Kentucky General Assembly in 2020 making it a misdemeanor to intimidate sports officials and a felony to physically assault them.
The “Good Sport” bill, supported by Republican Reps. Randy Bridges, Brandon Reed and Chad McCoy, seeks to keep “highly charged” situations from getting out of hand, Bridges told The Associated Press.
In a statement announcing the bill’s sponsorship, representatives cited a National Association of Sports Officials survey that found 52% of sporting officials felt that sportsmanship was getting worse and 47% of male officials and 44% of female officials felt they were in danger because of behavior at sporting events.
The bill comes after an April controversy in which a youth basketball coach was arrested on charges of assaulting Kenny Culp, a referee at the Paducah Regional Sports Plex, who had to be treated for a broken collarbone, a crack in his sinus cavity and a concussion or bruise on his brain at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Previously: Michigan youth basketball coach arrested on charges of assaulting Kentucky referee
Jeff Bruhn, a friend of Culp’s and the president of the 1st Region Softball Association, said his friend has been making “slow progress” in recovery.
“The physical stuff is healed,” he said. “I would say he still has a little anxiety in wondering what’s going to happen.”
Bruhn said Culp would rather “die on the court than off” even after the incident, “because he enjoyed being around the kids and the other officials.”
“Not too long ago, youth sports were considered a way to build character and teach respect,” Bridges said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we’re seeing more and more that this is no longer the case. I’m pre-filing this bill because we need to send a message that intimidating and assaulting athletic officials will not be tolerated.”
Reed said in a statement that lack of sportsmanship is “becoming more and more common, to the point that we are no longer surprised when we hear that an official has been intimidated or that someone has gone so far as to assault the person we should be teaching our children to respect.”
The bill is meant to “send a message” to people, Reed said, “that if you’re not going to be a ‘good sport,’ you better plan on staying home.”
McCoy said it’s important to keep sporting events “into perspective.”
“These games are about teaching children to play together, to grow and learn together,” he said. “When you have someone get violent or scream threats, you ruin the experience for not only the official but the children participating in the sport.”
Rick Browning, who is entering his sixth year as the assigner of basketball officials in the Sixth and Seventh regions, said the bill is a “long time coming.”
“We’re losing officials in all sports at a tremendously growing rate,” Browning said. “And it’s affecting basketball for the first time this year. When it comes to the point of cursing, threatening and things of that nature, it’s gone too far.”
Browning had 191 officials last season, and he now has 180 who work middle school, freshman, JV and varsity games. He said people are never prepared for an incident like what happened to Culp, and people in his shoes are there out of respect for the game.
“Most people get into officiating to supplement their income, although it’s a tremendously small supplement,” he said. “It’s just like working at Walmart or Kmart or whatever, but these particular people have a great respect for the game and want to get into it. But younger people, from 20 to 30 years old, would rather work at Walmart than put up with abuse from fans.”
However, Browning said he doesn’t think the bill will have an immediate effect. “I think it will take until something happens and somebody says, ‘We’re not going to put up with that anymore and you have to spend X number of years in jail.’ I think that might send a message. Unfortunately, until that time, I don’t think it will make a difference.”
Burline Bower, the head coach of McCracken County High School in Paducah, said referees aren’t personally invested in game outcomes and shouldn’t be attacked for being there.
“What kind of example is that showing your kids, even if you get the worst-called game in the world, and every call goes against you. Be a man. Man up and handle adversity,” Bower said. “Don’t go out there and start something with a referee.”
Bower echoed Browning and said referees are there to work.
Reach breaking news reporter Sarah Ladd at sladd@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ladd_sarah. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.
Published 7:06 PM EST Nov 21, 2019
