Regulations of Conduct

Sportsmanship
Certain standards of behavior are expected of all student-athletes and team personnel participating in any NJCAA event. Student-athletes are guests at any event; their participation is a privilege, not a right. Sportsmanship and citizenship are modes of conduct that promote and develop respect for fellow participants, coaches and teammates. That respect should also be reflected in each student-athlete''''s behavior toward officials and spectators. Every individual participating in any NJCAA event must abide by the following rules.

Behavior Rules

1. Violent Behavior - Acts of violence or flagrant acts during or related to an athletic contest are not permitted. A violent act is one in which physical contact or an attempt to make physical contact occurs, the purpose of which is to damage, harm, intimidate or otherwise injure a person or property.

Penalty for Violent Behavior
Any player, coach or team personnel who is guilty of leaving his or her sideline, bench or position to participate in violent behavior will be considered a responsible party in such behavior and will be subject to the national fight rule governing his or her respective sport. Should no such rule exist in the individual sport rulebook, individuals will be subject to the following:

• Immediate ejection
• A one-game suspension to be served during the next scheduled contest during the regular season and/or postseason play. Suspension of student-athletes or coaches occurring at the end of the season shall carry over to the next academic year and will be served during the first scheduled contest of that year.
• Should an individual be ejected for violence a second time during a given season, that individual shall be prohibited from participating in any intercollegiate athletics for the remainder of the year.

2. Nonviolent Unsportsman-like Behavior - Nonviolent unsportsmanlike behavior during or related to any NJCAA event is prohibited. This behavior includes profanity, vulgar gestures, trash talk and loud or abusive language directed at players, coaches, contest officials and/or spectators.

Penalty for Nonviolent Unsportsman-like Behavior
Any player, coach or team personnel guilty of nonviolent unsportsman-like behavior is subject to the national rules governing his or her sport. Should no such rule exist in the individual sport rulebook, individuals will be subject to the following:

• Immediate ejection.
• A one-game suspension to be served during the next scheduled contest during the regular season and/or postseason play.

Note: Event administrators must report to their regional director all incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior that result in ejection.

3. Alcohol/Drugs - The use of alcohol/drugs at any NJCAA-sponsored event is prohibited. Any game official having reasonable cause to believe a student athlete, coach, team official or other individual participating in an athletic event is using or is sufficiently impaired so as to endanger that individual or other individuals participating in said event by virtue of injury, use of alcohol or drugs (including but not limited to performance-enhancing or pain killing drugs) may remove or disqualify said individual from further participation in the sporting event by the following procedure:

Penalty for alcohol/drug use at NJCAA events

The game official shall immediately notify the impaired individual and the impaired individual''''s coach, team captain or other school representative that the official has reasonable cause to believe that said individual is impaired to the extent of being a danger to the individual and/or to other participants and the specific reasons for such belief.

The game official may then declare the impaired individual disqualified from further participation or suspend him or her from participation for such time as the game official believes necessary for the individual to recover from such impairment.

In the event the impaired individual objects to the decision of the game official, such decision may be immediately referred to the NJCAA representative, athletic director or their designee in charge of the sporting event. Said representative or an other person-in-charge shall make the final determination as to the individual''''s impairment or lack thereof. The decision of the NJCAA representative, athletic director or other person-in-charge shall be final and binding with regard to any disqualification, suspension or overruling of the game official.

Nothing shall, however, prevent the impaired individual or such individual''''s school from subsequently requesting review of the game official''''s decision by the NJCAA executive committee. Said executive committee may review the decision of the game official and take such appropriate actions as may be justified and fair to all parties.

4. Tobacco - The use of all tobacco products shall be prohibited in all practices and athletic events conducted under the auspices of the NJCAA and its member institutions. This rule shall apply equally to all student-athletes, coaches, authorized team personnel and other individuals participating in an athletic event.

Penalty for use of tobacco products at NJCAA events
The event official shall immediately notify said individual(s) observed using any form of tobacco product of the aforementioned violation and shall enforce an immediate event disqualification and/or additional penalties prescribed by the national rules governing the sport.

Note: A coach serving a game suspension for any reason shall be restricted to the designated spectator areas and is prohibited from any contact, direct or indirect, with his or her team, assistant coaches and/or bench personnel, before, during and immediately after the game.

Disciplinary Action
1. Violations of the code of conduct for national events need to be referred to the National Office of the NJCAA.

2. The NJCAA executive committee shall act as a board of appeal. If the decision of the executive committee is challenged, such challenge must be resolved by submission of the issue or issues in question to binding arbitration according to the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association and as more fully set out in Article V of the NJCAA bylaws

3. The NJCAA executive committee's decision does not prevent or assume other disciplinary action by the violator''''s college or law-enforcement agencies.

4. No other appeal procedures are authorized.

5. All other disciplinary action or problems not involving national events, contests or tournaments and not provided for in the NJCAA handbook and casebook shall be referred to the appropriate regional director and/or conference administrator for decision.

Revised 3/31/98