Is this what its come to? A bill making its way through the New Jersey legislature that would make attacking a sports official tantamount to attacking a police officer. In a story by Dan Alexander, it is said that attacking an official working a game would now be considered aggravated assault and, if convicted, be punishable by five years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

I don’t doubt the need for such a bill, there have been high profile attacks the last couple of years including the Howell case, where two parents were accused of following the referees to their locker room and attacking them, but isn’t it sad that it’s necessary? Nothing sucks the fun out of youth sports faster than boorish parents and its not just the officials who suffer.

My son played baseball with a boy whose dad used to scream at him. When he would reach base, the father would go to the first base coach’s box to yell at him (he wasn’t the first base coach) and when he went to third, the dad went to the third base coach’s box to berate him some more. He yelled things like “I taught you better than that!” He just had to make sure we all knew that his son’s miscues were not because of his poor parenting.

On my son’s hockey team, there was a good player we’ll call “Charlie.” His dad would shout things from the stands like, “Do it yourself, Charlie, you’re not gonna get any help from those kids!” The kids in question were 7. After the game, the coach threatened to ban the dad if he didn’t shut up. There are more, but you get the picture. Adults ruin youth sports.

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