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Committee rejects bill to criminalize student-athlete harassment tied to sports betting
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Summary
After testimony from a former University of Delaware kicker and mixed public comment, the House Education Committee voted down HB314, which would have created a new criminal offense for student-athlete harassment tied to betting and permitted civil suits by convicted offenders' victims.
Representative Yerrick introduced House Bill 314 to create a new criminal offense described in the bill as "student-athlete harassment," allow a convicted harasser to be subject to civil suit by a victim, and to cover college — with planned amendment to include high school athletes.
Sponsor testimony emphasized the rise of sports betting and online harassment. He said the bill responds to widely available national wagering and increased online access to athletes; he described reported incidents and called for protections for student athletes. "I'm gonna share this as a precedent and why we're bringing forward this legislation," the sponsor said, citing national exposure and the difficulty of insulating athletes from online harassment.
Nate Reid, a former University of Delaware placekicker, described receiving hundreds of direct messages and threatening posts after a televised game. Reid read example messages into the record, including: "I'm telling you right now, your kicker is not safe," "Whoever murders the Delaware kicker, I'll pay you $20,000," and "I hope you die." He said the harassment affected his family and mental-health support needs and urged lawmakers to support the bill because it could have protected him.
Committee members raised legal and policy concerns. Representative Lynn argued the conduct described is already criminalized under existing terroristic threatening and harassment statutes and questioned the need for a new, athlete-specific offense; she also asked why repeated social-media abuse would be elevated to a felony. Mark Catrona of the Division of Legislative Services said the bill's authors chose Superior Court jurisdiction because the drafters viewed the offense as serious and to avoid procedural barriers in inferior courts; he noted some elements differ from existing statutes. Other members asked whether the civil suit provision and jurisdictional reach (for conduct occurring outside Delaware but affecting a Delaware student) had been fully considered.
Public commenters were split. John Schmidt of the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems supported the bill and presented data about abusive posts affecting student athletes. Alana Mosik of the Office of Defense Services opposed it as overbroad and flagged First Amendment concerns; she told the committee the scope of criminalized behavior in the bill could be constitutionally problematic. Virtual commenter Lynn Keilhorn urged amendments before release.
The committee voted on HB314; the roll call recorded two votes in favor and ten opposed, with two members absent. The motion failed and the bill did not advance out of the committee.
