By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND, Kan. — Attacks on sports officials often grab national headlines. Two more incidents in the eastern United States once again drew attention to the subject last month. The Kansas state legislature is trying to do its part with a bill that would specifically target abuse of sports officials. Longtime official Mark Goodheart said referees can use the help.
"We're seeing a definite increase in violence, maybe not so much in Kansas, but around us," he said. "Some people are not wanting to register because of that possibility."
House Bill 2139 states abuse of a sports official is intentionally, "Striking, shoving, kicking, spitting on or otherwise causing physical contact with a sports official or threatening to engage in such conduct...". There are also provisions for other verbal and non-verbal attacks and threats. Common battery is already a Class B misdemeanor in the state of Kansas.
Last year, the National Federation of High School State Associations (NFHS) reported more than 50,000 officials had quit nationwide since the 2018-19 school year. The state of Kansas has lost more than 1,300 officials in the past decade. Goodheart said something needs to change to reverse the trend.
"They're also looking at doing background checks on officials more than they have in the past, too," he said. "I think they have to keep with the times and be proactive rather than reactive. They're trying to say we're doing what we can do to help officials, now we need people to start officiating."
The bill was introduced in the Kansas House on Jan. 23, and was heard in the house on Feb. 2. Last Tuesday, the House Committee recommended the bill be forwarded to the Committee on Education.