Ohio House addresses error in new sports concussion law

State lawmakers moved this week to correct a new state law that inadvertently could allow coaches and referees in youth sports leagues to be criminally prosecuted for violating rules regarding players’ head injuries (Source: “Ohio bill would fix errors in sports safety law,” Associated Press via the Akron Beacon Journal, May 15, 2013).

The House voted unanimously Wednesday to fix the error in the law. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill, though it will likely sign off on the legislation.

The new law requires coaches, volunteers and officials in youth sports organizations to have players who show concussion-like symptoms sit out games or practices until they’ve been checked and cleared in writing by a doctor or licensed health-care provider. Athletes can’t return to play on the same day they are removed.

A bill-writing error left open the door for coaches to face charges. The way the law is currently written, parents who volunteer at sporting events could be fined or face jail time if they haven’t received the proper concussion training, said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark.

Hottinger said it wasn’t the law’s intent to “potentially turn volunteers and coaches and referees and officials into criminals.”