ST. PAUL, Minn. (KTTC) – On Tuesday morning, St. Paul lawmakers debated a bill that would mandate good behavior for fans at youth and high school athletic games.
Rep. John Foote (DFL-Rosemount), who has been a referee for 19 years, sponsored the bill. In Tuesday morning's session, he said he was considering not returning to referee next year, citing unruly fans.
At the session, an unruly fan was described as someone who “exceeds boundaries by climbing onto the court and grabbing referees, players, and coaches.”
Doing so will result in a $1,000 fine.
Mr. Huot shared his personal experience to put the importance of this bill into perspective.
“I had no idea that the next person who came up to me was someone who claimed to be an assistant athletic director at a high school. [They] He wanted to do a show in the middle of the floor with me,” Huot said. “And that's my protector. This is the person who got me out of the gym when everything went wrong and my protector was gone.”
Eric Martens, executive director of the Minnesota High School League, said negative fan behavior makes it difficult to retain officials and even hire new officials.
Martens said, citing five sports in the state: hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer and football. Approximately 40,000 contests are held annually.
Huot said it is more difficult to maintain a referee's license than a paramedic or real estate agent's license.
The bill has been delayed, meaning it will be delayed until the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission can further study its impact.
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