It comes right here in my own backyard:
Public high school coaches aren’t public officials under the law, according to the court, because their decisions about playing time and benching tardy players aren’t core government functions. …
“Simply, basketball is not fundamental to democracy,” the ruling said. [StarTribune]
What it means is that if you’re attending a high school sporting event and start screaming filthy falsehoods about the coach, she doesn’t have to take it. She can dump your ass in court and sue for damages.
Back when I was refereeing regularly at high school fencing tournaments, I didn’t hear more than a couple of groans, which is completely acceptable. I haven’t heard of it getting worse since I more or less stopped refereeing, and hopefully it’ll stay that way.
