Officials must take into account repeated fouls by the same team or player and upgrade to cards in order to alter the behavior. If yellow cards are not having the intended effect, red cards must be used to control the game.

Beyond this, cards may be issued to coaches who are not able to prevent unsportsmanlike behaviors and/or acts of misconduct by parents, fans, and/or other observers of games.  Spectator misconduct will result in stoppage of play and a request to the appropriate coach to exercise control over the behavior, possibly including a request form the official to ensure that the offending party leaves the premises. Should a second incident occur, or should the spectator in question fail to leave when requested, that coach will receive a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct necessitating that one player be removed from the field for three minutes. A third incident, or continued refusal to leave, will result in a forfeit. Should spectators for both teams exhibit such misconduct, a double forfeit will be announced. Forfeits for spectator misconduct will be treated as red cards for the coach under this policy.

Any fighting requires an ejection.  Any players leaving the bench area and entering the field during a fight are to be ejected. Any coach or player who is ejected from a game will be subject to a minimum suspension of one game and will not be allowed to resume game play or coaching until the GYLOA Board recommends reinstatement. The offending individuals must immediately leave the game area.

Incident Reporting:

Umpires will be required to specifically identify and report all yellow cards that are associated with unsportsmanlike behavior as well as any and all red cards for GYLOA official review. Independent of the cards issued (or not), GYLOA encourages coaches, officials, or even spectators to report incidents that they deem to be in violation of the Code of the Ethics of US Lacrosse and/or their own ethical standards. Coaches should utilize the Coaches Game Report. Umpires should document their concerns in the OWLUA Game Response. Spectators may provide feedback directly on the GYLA website.

Incident Review Process:

GYLOA will review all red cards, yellow cards for unsportsmanlike behavior/misconduct, and other reported incidents to make a determination if further investigation is required. GYLOA reserves the right to appoint a Board member or a third-party to gather additional information surrounding particular incidents and expects its members and affiliates to be cooperative and forthcoming should an investigation be deemed necessary.  Based on this review, GYLOA will make a determination on whether to follow the standard Sanction Protocol (described below) or to accelerate the sanction process. Reported incidents not specifically associated with a yellow or red card will, upon investigation, either be dismissed or validated as ‘yellow-equivalent’ or ‘red-equivalent’ offenses.  Individuals, teams, and/or programs that repeatedly violate the spirit of this policy will be subject to evaluation by the GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee. 

This Committee will be comprised of no fewer than three individuals representing important constituencies including, but not limited to, US Lacrosse (Oregon Chapter), Umpires, and Coaches, all of whom are selected and approved by the GYLOA Board of Directors.  This Committee will be responsible for analyzing and determining the fitness of a player, coach, team, or program for continued participation in GYLOA-sponsored leagues, tournaments, and/or events.

Sanction Protocol:

Individuals, teams, and programs are subject to sanctions, the severity of which escalate, with each yellow card for misconduct, red card, reported and substantiated incident of unsportsmanlike behavior, or combination thereof. The standard sanction protocol progresses from Stage 0 for a first offense yellow-card for misconduct or yellow-equivalent reported incident, through Stage 3 for a 4th yellow or 3rd red at the individual or team level over the course of the season. Sanctions range from an official warning at Stage 0 to Suspension for the remainder of the season at Stage 3. 

For particular grievous infractions, GYLOA reserves the right to skip Stages to accelerate the severity of sanctions against individuals. The following table illustrates the infractions and sanctions associated with each Stage in the protocol. Note that should an individual or team have a combination of ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ infractions, their sanction Stage will be determined by adding the total number of infractions and treating them as if they were all ‘red’.

Stage Infraction:

Level   Individual

0        Yellow-M #1   Official Warning         Official Warning

          NA     

1        Yellow-M #2   Mimimum 1-game suspension         Temporary Suspension

Con call with GYLOA

Corrective Action Plan

          Red #1        

2        Yellow-M #3   Minimum 2-game suspension GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee Evaluation

Updated Corrective Action Plan

Minimum 2-game team suspension

Fines for Forfeited Games

          Red #2        

3        Yellow-M #4   Minimum suspension for remainder of season

Probationary Hearing for Next Season and 3 game probation next season          GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee Evaluation

Minimum team suspension for remainder of season

Fines for Forfeited Games

Preventative Action Plan

Probationary Hearing for Next Season and 3 game probation next season

          Red #3                  

Individuals committing Stage 1 infractions will be suspended for a minimum of 1 game and can only resume participation in GYLOA-related activities if reinstated by the GYLOA Board.  Their teams will be temporarily suspended pending review by GYLOA and subject to the team’s completion of the required steps for corrective action. 

A mandatory conference call must be held including GYLOA Board Member(s), the coach, and the program administrator to discuss the event and corrective actions designed to prevent further incidents.  Corrective action plans must be documented and submitted to GYLOA for approval.  The timeliness and quality of the team’s response to these process requirements will determine the timing of reinstatement.  GYLOA will make reasonable efforts to reinstate teams who complete the required conference call and corrective action plan within 72 hours of the infraction such that no games are missed as a result of a Stage 1 offense and such that individual sanctions are limited to a single game suspension.

Stage 2 indicates the possible presence of an inappropriate pattern and the determination of appropriate levels of sanction will be made by the GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee.  Independent of GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee decision, the minimum sanction for an individual or team at Stage 2 is a 2-game suspension.  The Committee may add to these sanctions, may request an updated corrective action plan, and/or impose other requirements.  With the exception of matters escalated through the Appeals process (see below), the GYLOA Board will not reinstate Stage 2 violators without the blessing of the Committee.

By the time and individual or team reaches Stage 3 a serious problem of misconduct and the inability of the program to control the behavior of its players, coaches, or fans has been exposed.  The GYLOA Sportsmanship Review Committee is convened to ensure that the incidents have been substantiated and that there are no mitigating circumstances as the sanctions at Stage 3 involve suspension for the remainder of the season. Further The Committee will determine whether the individuals and/or teams in question should be placed on probation going into the next season or have their membership suspended for 1, 2, or 3 years.

Teams which are suspended are forced to forfeit games. Forfeitures impose hardship not just on the affected team, but also on opponents and umpires. A fine of $90 per forfeited game will be assessed against suspended teams.  In addition, any prepaid umpire fees that would have been applied to the games in question will be forfeited.  This policy will allow GYLOA to compensate the umpires for payment they would have received, to refund any prepaid umpire fees for that game to the opponent and to retain a $45 sanction administration fee for having to manage the situation.

Only teams in good standing as GYLOA members will be allowed to participate in post-season play. Teams placed on probation for the following season (and/or with individuals on probation) will be expected to convert their corrective action plan into a prevention plan which will be reviewed by GYLOA before the start of the season.  Any unpaid fines from the prior year will be due before the team will be allowed to register. These teams and/or individuals will assume a Stage 2 status for the first 3 games of the next season, meaning that any yellow card for misconduct, red card, or substantiated yellow-equivalent or red-equivalent reported incident will subject them to suspension for the remainder of the season.  Should the first three games pass without any incident, the probation will be deemed fully-lifted.

Appeals Process:

Players, coaches, teams and/or programs that have been sanctioned may appeal their cases to the GYLOA Board of Directors. Requests for appeal must be submitted in writing. When required, appeals will be considered during monthly meetings of the Directors. Affected parties will have the right to present their cases in person.  Provided that a quorum of the Board is present, decisions will be rendered and communicated within 24 hours of the completion of the appeal.