Meeting Public Comments

Bill Topp [National Association of Sports Officials]

The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) has been at the forefront of protecting sports officials for more than four decades. Among the efforts for our nonprofit organization that includes more than 30,000 sports officials across the country is supporting legislation that protects sports officials.We are under assault. The general bad behavior at sporting events has reached fever pitch. It doesn't just affect the sports officials that are quitting at an alarming rate. It hurts the opportunities to bring new people into this wonderful avocation. And equally important, it hurts the young people that are playing sports as they witness abhorrent behavior and deal with the aftermath.Twentyfour (24) States have Assault Legislation, Civil Statues and/or Supportive Resolutions protecting and supporting sports officials. There are seven other states or municipalities currently working on statutes or legislation in some form. We have extensive information on legislation activity on our website at https://www.naso.org/resources/legislation/. It is difficult to share accurate data on the upward assault trend as not all assaults are reported and there is no national database mechanism for all assaults to be reported. (Many reports stay within the respective sport structure at the local or state level.) However, we can report that NASO receives more assault reports today than at any time in our history, averaging two to three per week. The vast majority of those assaults are at the youth and high school levels. The issue is such a concern in our industry that NASO added an Assault Protection Program that offers insurance and legal support as a benefit to our membership.In 2023, NASO with the support of dozens of organizations completed a robust National Survey with nearly 36,000 respondents across the country. The data tells the tale: The average age of sports officials across the country is 57 years old (up from the 2017 Survey of 53 years old). Nearly 51% of male officials have felt unsafe or feared for their safety in connection to officiating. (Up 3%) Nearly 53% of female officials have felt unsafe or feared for their safety in connection to officiating. (Up 6%) 68% of sports officials believe that sportsmanship is getting worse. Youth, adult recreation and high school levels are identified as the worst sportsmanship levels. (Up 11%) Parents (40%), coaches (30%) and fans (18%) cause the most sportsmanship problems. 59% of officials and officiating leaders cite that most new officials quit within the first 13 years. 13% of officials have been assaulted by either a fan, coach or player. The average starting age for a sports official is now 4045 years old. Thirty years ago, the average starting age for a sports official was 2025 years old.www.naso.org/surveyIn addition, organizations that register sports officials reported a 2535% drop during and following the pandemic. Simply put, many people that were officiating did not return. The decline in the number of sports officials has been slowly happening for two decades; the pandemic pushed it over the proverbial cliff.We have conducted surveys in various forms for decades. Consistently, the number one reason officials quit or do not enter at all is Sportsmanship. Historically, one of the main objections to sports officials assault legislation is the notion that assault laws already exist. That is fair and accurate. In every state, however, there are categories of individuals that have special legislative protections due to the potentially volatile nature of their work. Those may include first responders, health care professionals, educators, judges and even legislators. We are simply asking that sports officials due to the highly volatile environment that we often work in be considered similarly. Each state that has passed this legislation rightly declares their own best way to do it. All of those efforts are supported by NASO and would be welcomed by your states sports officials.I cant guarantee you that legislation will stop bad behavior in its tracks. It wont. And I cant prove to you that sports officials assault legislation will reduce assaults in your state. What I can guarantee you is that the support for sports officials has never been more needed. We are under attack and if we dont turn the sports atmosphere around soon, sports at the amateur level are in jeopardy. Please support this legislation.Sincerely,Bill Topp President National Association of Sports Officials Phone: 2626328855 ext. 115 Address: 2017 Lathrop Avenue, Racine WI 53405 Web: www.naso.org Email: btoppnaso.org