North Carolina cracking down on profanity in prep sports

North Carolina’s athletic association hopes a new rule will help crack down on profanity during high school games this fall.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) counted 329 incidents of player ejections during the 2015 football season, and 54 of them were due to profanity. The NCHSAA’s new rule states that assistant and head coaches get two unsportsmanlike penalties per game, and after the second the head coach is ejected. That means assistant coaches could get two unsportsmanlike penalties, and the head coach would pay the price. The rule seems to hold head coaches accountable for the actions of their teams.

For players, use of profanity will result in a 15-yard penalty.

From The Laurinburg Exchange:

Neil Buie, the regional supervisor for the Southeastern NC Sports Officials, LLC., was on hand to inform the coaches about the rule changes and how they could have a dramatic impact on the upcoming season.

“In the past officials would lend a deaf ear to profanity, as long as it wasn’t directed at an official,” Buie said. “That’s not going to be the case necessarily this year.”

…

The unsportsmanlike penalties could also be handed down to coaches who direct their profanity at an athlete on the sidelines.

“In the past if a player comes off the field and a coach is pretty animated with his lack of performance and talks to him in a serious manner, that might include some things your mama might not like you to say. If an official hears a coach do that this year, that’s going to be penalized,” said Buie.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out during the upcoming season. Some officials might choose to turn a blind eye to profanity not directed at them, while others could be sticklers. It’s possible — even likely — that the NCHSAA sees an increase in profanity penalties this year.

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