Spectator Behavior at Youth Sporting Event

[default1968]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Georgia

I am the president of a sports association in Georgia. We are a not for profit club and own the complex where our fields are located. We had an incident of a parent(white) flipping off/giving the bird to the referee of the game. Another parent(red) asked the parent(white) to control his behavior because his young daughter was present. Parent(white) asked parent(red) what they were going to do about it and punched parent(red) in the face breaking his glasses and causing a small cut on the side of his head. Both parents then wrestled to the ground and had to be separated by other spectators. Parent(white) fled the fields with a woman - presumably his wife - and left the complex. They left their teenage daughter behind and several minutes later a woman returned and the daughter jumped in the car and they left very quickly.

1. 911 was called and a sheriff deputy arrived to take a report.
2. I am not sure that the parent(red) will file charges.
3. Are there any options for our association to pursue legal action against the parent(white)? Criminal trespass warning? Other?


Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[TigerD]

Nice use of colors to delineate the two parties. But I have to ask -- why is it always the white man beating up the red man?

Seriously, if you can identify the aggressor, trespassing him is reasonable. The police will conduct their investigation - you don't need to worry about that.

You might want to brush up on the terms of your liability policy. Have you considered hiring an off-duty cop as security at these events?

That is about the limit of what you can do.

DC

 

[tranquility]

Since you own the venue, you can deny access to anyone you want as long as it is not for a prohibited reason. (Race, religion etc.) You may be in breach of contract if you deny access to a player who is signed up for the league if you don't have good cause. You can prevent some problems in the future by giving a code of conduct to all who sign up and make a bylaw regarding removal from the premises. When a person in this situation assaults another (Actually, batters.) you have a duty to take reasonable steps to assure it does not happen again. Not by anyone as you have no notice of a problem, but by that person. Only after repeated problems can you deal with a team. (Unless you have a notification that teams are responsible for their players.

I would make sure you have some "due process" under your organization's bylaws/rules before issuing a permanent ban. You might give a board member power for a temporary ban and then give a hearing date at the next board meeting where the person can present his side of the situation and have a vote before making a permanent ban. The no trespass letter where you remove permission on a temporary and latter permanent basis is how you do that. To be effective, you must have proof the person has knowledge of the letter/removal of permission. That's why many stores have the letter in house to give to a suspected shoplifter in the presence of the police. You might have a field marshal with the power to do a temporary ban and give him access to the letter and criteria of its use.