Referees making calls during a game catch a lot of flack from players, coaches and especially from fans on a regular basis. Not every call is perfect, and not every decision will be correct, because, after all, game officials are prone to human errors.

About 42% of game officials at any level in New Hampshire have reported feeling unsafe or feared for their safety due to the behavior of an administrator, player, coach, or spectator, according to the National Association of Sporting Officials 2023 survey. Furthermore, one out of ten reported that they had been physically assaulted during or after a game.

Additionally, 60% of game officials ranked verbal abuse from parents and fans as one of their two top reasons for leaving the profession, followed closely behind by 50% saying verbal abuse from coaches was one of their top two, according to a different survey of game officials conducted by Officially Human in 15 states with nearly 20,000 respondents.

For that reason, on Jan. 1 of this year, a new law relating to penalties for the assault or harassment of sports officials took effect in New Hampshire.

This bipartisan bill, Senate Bill 327, was passed last spring and was signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu in July. It has added to the existing chapter on assault and related offenses, and aims to protect sports officials, defined by law as “a person at a sports event who enforces the rules of the event, such as an umpire, referee, timer, or scorer, regardless of whether the person is paid or provides his or her services as an unpaid volunteer.”

Kevin Flynn – a former journalist and author turned podcaster – umpires baseball games and was an advocate for the law. He initially raised the issue of game officials being assaulted or harassed to his local representative, David Luneau, a Hopkinton Democrat, who then collaborated with other legislators.

New Hampshire became the 23rd state to enact legislation of this kind, which passed through the House and Senate with bipartisan support.

“I think the new law brings important attention to the issue of harassment of sports officials. Let me say that most coaches are sportsmen and the great majority of parents in New Hampshire are appreciative of the officials who make the games possible,” said Flynn. “For some reason, certain people feel they can behave in ways on a field or in a gymnasium that they would never do at work or in public. They act as if the law does not apply on a ball field, that unwanted contact or threats of violence are just ‘part of the game.’”

The law applies penalties to any participants who commit crimes such as first- and second-degree assault, stalking, harassment or criminal threats against sports officials while engaged in their duties at any amateur or professional athletic contest in the state.

“I hope it will make someone think twice before acting rashly,” Flynn said. “Violence has no place on our children’s courts, diamonds, and gridirons.”

Violating this law could mean up to a $1,000 fine and up to a 12-month ban from all athletic contests in the state on first offense. For subsequent offenses, people could face lifetime bans and an additional fine for each violation of the order.

“The law doesn’t criminalize arguing calls or codify sportsmanship,” Flynn said. “It is however a strong step toward preventing the behavior having a deleterious effect on sports in the Granite State.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com