Coach Player Misconduct

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

There are many words that should be "T"ed up. If you allow one, you have to allow all of them.

If you allow none, the kids will play by the rules.

This was my point in the other thread and has always been my stance. If you set the standard, the kids will hold to it because they want to play.

My situation is different than all of yours (I think) in that my main league mandates we follow that rule. Obviously if a player who suffers an injury swears there will be leeway and it's not as though we go looking for it. I tell kids in the captain's meeting "If you do it on the floor and we know who said it, we deal with it. If you do it on the bench we don't have to know who said it." As I said in the earlier thread, it has cut down on a lot of language that could be considered offensive.

In terms of what words/phrases are penalized, simple: we asked our supervisors and administrators in our meetings at the start of the season. Some didn't need definition (f***, s***) and others were clarified (SOB fell into the "T" category, by the way). GD raised a number of questions due to the religious connotation. It eventuallly fell into the T category after a mini-vote.

Another that overwhelmingly went into the T category - and the support was heavy among Black officials - was use of the N-word, even between teammates. We acknowledged its use in music, popular culture and the fact its considered "mainstream" in many communites but for many if not all of the officials none of that changed the word's historical use and purpose.

Some players have been thoughtful enough to quietly ask me "am I allowed to say (fill in the blank)?" My answer is always, "if you need to ask me, it's better you don't say it." So they don't.