Texas strengthens rules to address ejections in HS sports

June 19, 2018 / Athletic AdministrationCoaching
The governing body for Texas high school sports has approved new measures to address the rise in players who are ejected from games.

According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, more than 1,600 players were ejected in University Interscholastic League (UIL) contests last year. That number has doubled over the last decade, prompting action from the UIL.

Under the new rules, passed earlier this month, athletes will be required to miss time during the team’s next competition. For example, a football player who is ejected must miss, at minimum, the first half of the next game. The rule only addresses ejections related to player misconduct (e.g., bench-clearing brawls) and not those that fall within the rules of the game, like ejections for targeting.

From the Tyler Morning Telegraph:

“This is the next step,” UIL executive director Charles Breithaupt told the committee. “If it doesn’t work, we’re going to add more games and we’re going to add the coach, too. We have to stop this.”

In any case, a district executive committee or state executive committee could expand the penalty if it determined the actions by a player warranted it.

Football players will only miss the first half because they play fewer games in a season, UIL athletic director Susan Elza, said. UIL deputy director Jamey Harrison said ejections in football were down compared to the previous year.

The new rule will go into effect during the 2018-19 school year.

Click here to read more about the UIL’s latest changes.


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