I'VE got to tell you, this really burns me up. No safety net for
athletes and officialsThe scorecard on bills to ensure the safety of our young athletes and the men and women who officiate at their games doesn't look good.
I made calls to legislators last night to check on the fate of bills in the House and Senate to put athletic trainers in each and every one of the 39 public high schools in the state.
Well, folks, the news is they'll never come to a vote this session.
In 1993, when lawmakers established 15 still-temporary trainer positions, the plan was to add more each year until every school had one. Big joke.
I also found that bills in the House and Senate that would've made it a crime to attack referees and umpires are dead.
Of course, the committees deep-sixing these measures had their flimsy excuses.
"A matter of priorities" and "insufficient money" when it came to the trainers' bills.
For the sports officials' protection bill, I heard there was "not enough ammunition" to convince committee members we need such a law.
My first reaction to this whining is a word that starts with the letter, "b," but my editors won't let me use it.
So, I'll call it something else.
Garbage.
THE state authorizes prep sports competitions entailing risk to participants, yet the state is unwilling to ensure the safety of those participants.
Pretty basic stuff, don't you think?
But maybe we wouldn't want to cut any of those spin jockeys (PR people) assigned to state departments in order to save a kid from becoming a paraplegic or quadraplegic.
Maybe we wouldn't want to eliminate any of the many official state vehicles so a kid who suffers a seizure during practice can have access to a trainer certified to deal with such emergencies.
Sen. Rod Tam said he'll propose budget cuts so that the 39 trainers - darned cheap at $32,000 a year - can be afforded.
We can only hope Tam keeps his word. And we can only hope someone in the legislature is concerned enough to recall the brutal attack on basketball referee Chuck Martin at Kaimuki Recreation Center or the ambush of football referee Jim Beavers at Aloha Stadium.
The state and city provide facilities for various competitions that require supervision by game arbiters like Martin and Beavers to keep order.
Yet the legislature obviously doesn't see any need to warn participants or spectators they'll be prosecuted if they shove, punch, kick, or otherwise physically abuse one of these arbiters.
THE legislators who didn't want to deal with the sports officials' bill said there are already laws against assault. They saw no reason why sports officials need any special protection.
But it's very obvious they do need special protection. There's enough evidence to that effect that 11 states have already enacted laws to protect referees and umpires.
Just like school teachers and firefighters, sports officials are authority figures who must stand out in the open while they do their jobs and are particularly vulnerable to attack.
There are more opportunities for senseless acts of violence where they're concerned. That's because sports officials are positioned to work amid a whirlwind of emotions.
Emotions can easily explode in a recreation league setting where players sometimes arrive for a game with more than a few beers in them.
Why, why, why is it so hard to understand that these bills are long overdue on Gov. Cayetano's desk?
I guess our legislature is limitlessly resourceful when it comes to inaction.