Connecticut lawmakers are looking to increase penalties for those who verbally and/or physically abuse referees during youth sports.
Melissa Osborne (D-Simsbury) has proposed a bill that calls for providing “enhanced criminal penalties and civil remedies for, and a public awareness campaign about, attacks on sports officials.”
A recent article from NewsTimes.com detailed the legislation that would increase penalties for verbal and physical abuse toward referees. Below is an excerpt from the NewsTimes.com story.
This is not the first proposed bill of its kind in Connecticut, with legislators proposing similar bills for nearly a decade.
“Versions of this have been proposed before, but we have never been happy about what came out of it,” said Buddy Chernovetz, the commissioner of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials (IAABO) Board 10, which serves greater New Haven. “I am happy that it is back up there. We have so many problems with parents and what is happening on the court that we need something very stringent to save some of the officials that are fed up with what they have to put up with.”
Chernovetz, calls harassment of officials “an epidemic.”
Connecticut suffered the largest decline of referees and officials in the country from 2020-21 to the 2021-22 school year, with the number of registrants dropping from 4,793 in 2020-21 to 4,085 in 2021-22 according to the National Federation of State High School Associations data.
More popular sports had better numbers during the 2023-24 season than others. Sports that are considered generally less popular than the likes of football and basketball have suffered the most. Prior to the 2023-24 school year, there was serious concern around field hockey.
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“There is going to come a time within five years where you are not going to have enough officials to do games,” Chernovetz said. “It is getting close.”
Previous debates surrounding similar bill proposals have centered on the question of whether additional protections are needed when assault laws are already on the books.
To read the full story from NewsTimes.com about the potential legislation, click here.
