Sovereign immunity shifts litigation risk for high school sports, and the injured party is the only one tackled for a loss.
Who is responsible when a high school athlete hurts a referee?
Picture this: December 2022. Texas high school football between the Edinburg High Bobcats and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Bears. Referees eject a defensive lineman for the Bobcats after he initiated a late hit on the opposing quarterback and had multiple other incidents of unsportsmanlike conduct. As if to prove the referees’ point, the ejected player raced back on to the field and tackled one of the referees from behind. This was not the player’s first run-in with a referee - he previously shoved another referee during a high school soccer match.
The injured football referee filed a tort action against the player and hit the Texas Association of Sports Officials (the “Association”) with a negligence claim. The referee argued that the Association should have done more to ensure referee safety. To no one’s surprise, the referee is seeking $1 million in damages.
The obvious question is: why didn’t the referee sue the school district?
In Texas, government agencies — including school districts — enjoy sovereign immunity. This means they are immune from all legal action, except in certain limited circumstances. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §101.025 and §101.051.
So, if this referee wants monetary damages, he must sue the player and the Association. The problem? The player is likely judgment proof and the Association is barely in the black (although the Association likely has an insurance policy).
Will he win?
The player clearly assaulted the referee. So, yes, the referee will win as to the player.
But, there are a few problems with the referee’s claim against the Association.
The Association is not responsible for student-athlete behavior. That’s the school’s role.
The referee wrongly believed the Association was negligent in failing to screen all attendees and athletes for safety risks. Why is the Association responsible for ensuring a safe environment? The referee did not address that in the complaint. Instead, the referee made broad employer liability claims that seem flimsy here. Referees are volunteers for the Association, not employees. The Association did not sponsor or arrange the football game. The Association only coordinated the appearance of the referees. It would be interesting to know whether the school district would have even listened to the Association had the Association asked the school district to prohibit the player from playing.
The referee claimed that the Association had “actual, subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeded with conscious indifference to the rights, safety, or welfare of others.” If true, the Association probably did a cost-benefit analysis. Had the player played in additional soccer games and football games without harming other players or officials? If so, then the Association was likely right to let the player participate without objection. It would be illogical for a third-party to have control over player eligibility, which is usually in the school district’s domain.
The Association moved for summary judgement in early March 2024, noting that “reasonable minds could not disagree that Duron was under the control and direction of Edinburg High School at the time of the incident and therefore [the Association] cannot be vicariously liable for Duron’s actions.”
The court has not yet ruled on the motion.
So, the referee gets nothing?
It seems that way.
This case highlights an obvious issue with sovereign immunity: even when a government agency is the only body with the right to control or discipline individuals, the government will not be held liable for the actions of those individuals.
The less obvious issue is that the lack of a proper defendant can result in weak lawsuits against unrelated third parties, which is costly and time-intensive. This risk is especially pronounced when the unrelated third party is a volunteer organization with very little capital.
Link to original story: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/court-hearings-lawsuit-proceed-for-texas-football-player-accused-of-tackling-ref/
Link to the petition: https://trellis.law/doc/174154368/amended-petition