§61-2-15a. Assault, battery on athletic officials; penalties.

(a) If any person commits an assault as defined in subsection (b), section nine of this article, to the person of an athletic official during the time the official is acting as an athletic official, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or confined in jail not more than six months, or both fined and confined.

(b) If any person commits a battery, as defined in subsection (c), section nine of this article, against an athletic official during the time the official is acting as an athletic official, the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in jail not more than twelve months, or both fined and confined.

(c) For the purpose of this section, "athletic official" means a person at a sports event who enforces the rules of that event, such as an umpire or referee, or a person who supervises the participants, such as a coach.