MN House Bill Penalizes Bad Fans at Youth Sports Events

ST. PAUL -- Bill that penalizes sports fans that become unhinged at their kids' games is moving forward at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Representative Jeff Huot is the author of the bill in the House. He's also a longtime referee and has witnessed plenty of bad behavior himself.

He says there are criminal codes already in place that can take of some of the issues when the abuse becomes physical.

He says the state also passed a law a few years back that gave schools the right to suspend an unruly fan for up to a year, but it rarely gets enforced.

Huot says his bill would implement a civil penalty. It includes a $1,000 fine for your first offense which would be levied by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission.

We have to do something, doing nothing is not an option right now. It's terrible we have to legislate behavior. A lot of these events take place at the Little League level. I'm mean how do you get in the car with your kid on the way home and have to talk about "Jimmy's" mom or dad being a jerk on the sideline?

Huot says a lot of the details and specifics on the bill will be worked out as it makes its way through other House committees.