Faced with a critical shortage of game officials, the PIAA has approved on second reading a rule that high school coaches and athletes face as much as a two-game suspension for the use of foul and vulgar language or for physical contact with an official or an opponent.
It would be up to the official to recommend the current one-game suspension for a disqualification be increased to two. PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi tells the Tribune Review that soccer typically leads in ejections, and there were more than 400 of them last year, but football is seeing a big increase. There were 255 football ejections last season.
The PIAA says abuse is the number-one reason officials quit.
Ejected players would have to complete the NFHS Sportsmanship program, certified by the school principal, in order to return to competition. Ejected coaches would have to complete the program too, as well as the NFHS Teaching and Modeling Behavior program.
The PIAA bylaws require approval of the new policy only after three readings.
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