This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Gov. Chris Sununu has signed into law legislation aimed at protecting umpires and referees from attack or threats at youth sports events.
Senate Bill 327 will go into effect Jan. 1.
It will allow judges to ban people from athletic competitions if they’ve been convicted of assault, harassment, stalking, mischief, reckless conduct or threatening involving a sports official on the field of play or immediate vicinity. The length of the ban can vary.
The bill was passed in voice votes in the N.H. House on May 2 and in the Senate on May 30. This was one of dozens of bills Sununu signed on Friday.
State Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, a former college athlete and coach, is the prime sponsor of the bipartisan bill. Co-sponsors include State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, and Sen. Denise Ricciardi, R-Bedford, whose district takes in many Monadnock Region towns.
Russell Cloutier of Keene, who has officiated at baseball, soccer and ice hockey games at youth and adult levels, wrote to the House Judiciary Committee in favor of the bill.
“I have seen first-hand instances of harassment and threatening behavior, both directed at myself and other colleagues,” he said.
“Although I have not experienced a case of extreme behavior, I have heard of, and seen footage of, instances where sports officials have actually been chased and/or harmed by spectators, parents, coaches who lose control of their civil behavior, and certainly lose perspective of the importance of good sportsmanship and setting examples for others — especially for children who must witness these incidents.”
There have been news reports over the past several months of parents assaulting sports officials in Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi and California, among other places. Videos on YouTube show many such incidents.
A National Association of Sports Officials 2023 survey of 35,813 sports officials across all ages and sports showed more than half feared for their safety at some point because of coach, player or fan behavior. Nearly 12 percent reported having been physically assaulted during or after a sporting event.
Twenty-two other states already have laws to protect sports officials and penalize offenders, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
