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They still need protection Photo by Bob Pennell Umps, like Lou Ramirez, above, and other officials are targets of irate coaches and fans. Bill would punish those who attack officials By DON HUNT Bruce Myers had only been officiating a year or two when an irate city league basketball player approached him in the parking lot following a game. An hour or so earlier, Myers had issued the man two technical fouls and ejected him from the game. "Where did you get your license to officiate?" the man asked Myers. "In a Crackerjacks box," Myers replied. The remark infuriated the player even more, and he launched a punch that landed in the middle of Myers' face. As Myers slumped to the pavement, the man kicked him in the head. The blows rendered the referee unconscious, and he spent the night in a Medford hospital. Myers filed a civil lawsuit, settled out of court and was awarded $5,000, money that he used as a down payment on his first house. But was the perpetrator punished enough? Not if Oregon lawmakers have their way. Senate bill 482, which is expected to become law later this year, will make it a crime to engage in "offensive physical contact" with sports officials, punishable by a $500 to $1,000 fine. The bill has passed both the house and senate and needs only to be signed by Gov. John Kitzhaber to become law. "I think it's long overdue," says Myers, now 49 and living in Roseburg, where he teaches, coaches and continues to officiate basketball. "I don't think it's going to act as a deterrent. When people reach the boiling point, when they get so mad they want to hit an official, they're not thinking about the consequences. "But at least the new law will hold them more accountable." Myers sued his assailant only when the police showed reluctance to pursue the case. The new law will give authorities more ammunition to cite out-of-control players, coaches and spectators. Twelve other states have passed similar laws. "The abuse gets a little worse every year, and hopefully this (new law) will help curb it," says Lee Sparks, a longtime official who is now the commissioner of the Rogue Valley Basketball Officials Association. "We have seen an increase in verbal attacks on officials during and after games, and sometimes fans want to take it one step further." Sparks himself was attacked after a game at Crater High School several years ago. A man grabbed him by the arm, spun him around and shook him before Sparks broke free and escaped further harm. And just last month, umpire Andrew Aguilar of Medford was assaulted by the wife of a Redding, Calif., coach at a Babe Ruth tournament in Eagle Point. Aguilar had ejected the coach from a game after the coach had protested Aguilar's strike zone and kicked dirt on the plate. After the game, as the coach waved a bat near Aguilar, the woman threw a soft drink in the umpire's face. "She's telling her husband to kick my ass with that bat," Aguilar, 26, says, "and then all of a sudden she throws a Big Gulp on me. "I was glad some other people were standing around. Otherwise, who knows what might have happened? Had I been alone, I would have feared for my life." A handful of incidents occurred during school events last year, says Sparks, including one at a North Medford High freshman basketball game in which a fan elbowed an official as he was tossing the ball to a youngster at the free-throw line. "He came out of the stands and acted like he was simply going to walk out of the gym," Sparks says, "but he stopped along the base line and gave our guy (the official) a shove." Black Tornado varsity coach Gene Quilhaugh witnessed the incident and promptly ushered the culprit out the door. "One of the good things about officiating here in the Rogue Valley is the support we get from the schools," Sparks says. "Athletic directors and coaches have come to our rescue a few different times, and when situations have gotten sticky, they have ushered some of our officials to their vehicles after games." Sparks advises his officials to run off the court after games, remove their whistles from around their necks and not talk to anyone. "If someone grabs that cord around their neck, it could get ugly real fast," Sparks says. "It would be like Bluto swinging around Popeye. That's the last thing we need." But if nothing else, the person doing the lassoing will soon face a big fine. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.