NH sports officials take 'terrible' abuse. New law would penalize those who attack refs.

CONCORD — Stuart Dedopoulos told members of a New Hampshire State Senate committee he had been assaulted while working as an official in a men’s league basketball game.

Somebody didn’t like the call the New Hampshire basketball and soccer official had made and approached him at the end of the game.

“This fellow, who looked like a weightlifter, came up to me and said something about the call, took his hand, put it under my chin and put me up against the wall," Dedopoulos said.

Dedopoulos was testifying Jan. 23 in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Senate Bill 327-FN, which would penalize individuals who assault or harass sports officials.

What does Senate Bill 327 say?

Senate Bill 327, sponsored by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro of Manchester, would provide penalties against individuals for committing certain offenses against sports officials.

The law wouldn’t apply to individuals who yell at officials or tell them they made a bad call.

“Yelling at the officials is a little bit part of the game,” said Christopher Linns, a lacrosse and football coach who testified in support of the bill.

Rather, the bill identifies any person who commits criminal activity, such as first or second-degree assault, simple assault, reckless conduct, criminal threatening, or harassment. The bill may be amended to include stalking.

The individuals in question would be any "participant" who commits one of these actions against a sports official. The bill defines participant as a spectator, coach, administrator, or player.

If convicted, the court could give the perpetrator a fine of up to $1,000 and prohibit them from acting as a participant at a sports event within the state for any period of time up to one year.

The bill applies to any amateur or professional athletic contest in the state, but D’Allesandro said many of these offenses happen at children’s games.

Officials say bill is crucial to keep them safe

D’Allesandro, who was an athlete at the University of New Hampshire and later a coach at New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University), said that the number of atrocities committed against officials now is “reprehensible.”

“When you become an official, you’re there to make sure that the game is conducted properly, to make sure that all the participants get their fair assessment,” D’Allesandro said. “The attacking of the officials, the aberrant behavior that’s now taking place in sports venues, it’s really terrible.”

D’Allesandro thinks the level of harassment of sports officials has increased greatly since the time he competed in college, a tolerance of bad behavior which he partially attributes to Donald Trump. He wants this bill to send a message to people to behave themselves, especially at kids’ games where children are looking up to their parents' behavior.

Kevin Flynn, who is from Hopkinton and is a member of the Baseball Umpires Association, said coaches have punched officials and that parents have attacked officials on field and followed them back to their cars.

Dave Salvacion, Portsmouth High School JV boys soccer coach and an official for women’s lacrosse, testified he had to defend himself once when caught between drunk parents in the parking lot after a game.

According to the National Association of Sports Officials, Flynn said that one out of 10 officials said they’ve been physically assaulted during or after a game. More than 50% reported feeling unsafe due to participants' behavior.

Officials are often retirees, high schoolers, or ex-athletes hoping to give back to the sport they love. They travel long distances and receive little pay to officiate games throughout the state. But now, Flynn said, many are leaving the profession.

Since 2017, Flynn said, 50,000 officials nationwide have quit because of harassment. He and other people testifying in support of the bill said that many younger people have decided not to officiate because they fear the same.

Twenty-two other states have laws to protect sports officials and penalize offenders, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Dedopoulos thinks the New Hampshire bill would provide a much-needed deterrent.

“There’s nothing worse that I can think of, as a parent myself, if someone said to you, ‘You just did something, I’m not going to send you to jail, I’m not going to give you a fine, you’re just not going to see your kid play basketball next year,'” he said.

No one testified against the bill, and the committee will next decide whether to recommend the bill for passage by the New Hampshire Senate.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH bill aims to protect sports referees