STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10950
IN ASSEMBLY
April 14, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUPARDO, CONRAD, ANGELINO, SHIMSKY, McDONOUGH,
MANKTELOW, JENSEN, DeSTEFANO, SEMPOLINSKI -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the assault on sports
officials
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "sports officials protection act".
3 § 2. Subdivision 14 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as added by
4 chapter 268 of the laws of 2016, is amended and a new subdivision 15 is
5 added to read as follows:
6 14. With intent to prevent or obstruct a process server, as defined in
7 section eighty-nine-t of the general business law, from performing a
8 lawful duty pursuant to article three of the civil practice law and
9 rules, or intentionally, as retaliation against such a process server
10 for the performance of the process server's duties pursuant to such
11 article, including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal
12 evincing the actor's intent that the animal prevent or obstruct the
13 lawful duty of the process server or as retaliation against the process
14 server, [he or she] such person causes physical injury to such process
15 server[.]; or
16 15. With intent to cause physical injury to a sports official, which
17 shall include umpires, referees, judges, linesmen, coaches, assistant
18 coaches, and any other person participating in an official or substitute
19 capacity at a sports contest, such person causes such injury to such
20 sports official in or on or within any building, structure, athletic
21 playing field or playground at which the sports contest including pre-
22 game and post-game activities are conducted; including any and all
23 surrounding parking facilities or areas designated for parking for such
24 sports contests.
25 § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.34 to read
26 as follows:
27 § 240.34 Harassment of a sports official.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14980-02-6
A. 10950 2
1 A person is guilty of aggravated harassment of a sports official when,
2 with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm a sports official, which
3 shall include umpires, referees, judges, linesmen, coaches, assistant
4 coaches, and any other person participating in an official or substitute
5 capacity at a sports contest, such person:
6 1. Strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects such sports official
7 to physical contact, or attempts to threaten to do the same;
8 2. Causes or attempts to cause such sports official to come into
9 contact with saliva by expelling such fluid at a sports contest; or
10 3. Communicates a threat to cause physical harm to, or unlawful harm
11 to the property of a sports official, and the person knows or reasonably
12 should know that such communication will cause such sports official to
13 reasonably fear harm to such official's physical safety or property.
14 Harassment of a sports official is a violation.
15 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
16 it shall have become a law.
