Aspects of sanctions for Streamwood Little League sportsmanship violations: 

1. Categories of offenses

2. Types of warnings, penalties & duration

3. Communication & decision process re: sanctions

4. Appeal process once penalties assessed

5. Training of umpires re: sportsmanship rules and penalties 

1. Categories of Sportsmanship Offenses - for Coaches, Parents & Players 

1. Words/gestures/tone of voice – violations of codes of conduct by Coaches, Parents or Players include: 

• • Swearing or obscene gestures

  • Verbal threats of physical violence

  • Gestures indicating threat of physical violence (e.g. punching gesture; neck slit gesture)

  • Angry tone of voice with elevated volume (as compared with frustrated tone, which is not a violation). Note: this is clearly subjective and will require Sportsmanship Committee (SC) consultation. 

2. Physical contact - with other players, umpires, other parents & other coaches 

   • Pushing/shoving

   • Grabbing 

   • Punching 

   • Kicking 

   • Bumping during heated argument 

3. Breaking of rules, including extent of player participation (See separate sets of rules for each division within SLL)

II. Types of Warnings, Penalties & Duration 

1. Warning for all types of offenses except physical contact 

• Warning by umpire, if during game

• Warning by SC Chair, if decided after game

• No warning needed if violation involves physical contact, or if offense is severe 

• If warnings are followed by further violations, range of penalties below applies

• Warning may include sitting on the bench for an inning to reflect.

2. Request to leave the field - for physical contact and words/gestures/tone of voice offenses 

• To be used if umpire warning is followed by an additional violation during game 

• Coaches can bench a player for one or more innings if player is not acting in a safe or respectful way. Player should be reported to player agent for league-parent communication.

3. Suspend for certain # of games (based on severity of offense or repeated offenses) 

• To be decided by consultation within SC, followed by final Board decision 

• Most first offenses = 1 game suspension 

• Severe first offenses = 2-3 games (These include: physical contact, as described above, or unethical behavior, as determined by Sportsmanship Committee based on rules violations for each division.)

4. Suspend for rest of season 

• Next level of penalty for 2 offenses, after warnings & 1 offense penalties are applied 

5. Serve only as assistant coach for next season 

   • To be decided by SC consultation, interaction with alleged violator and final Executive Board (BD) decision 

6. One-Year or permanent suspension from league 

• Appropriate after all above penalties are applied and if another violation occurs 

• May also be applied in severe situations including physical contact, or if violator does not acknowledge and apologize for conduct

  • To be decided by SC consultation, interaction with alleged violator and final Executive Board (BD) decision

III. Communication & Decision Process re: Sanctions

1. Pre-season Communication 

• Handouts of sportsmanship codes of conduct, with required signatures, to all who register 

• Posting on SLL website 

2. Notification Methods for Reporting of Violations 

• Direct observation by Sportsmanship Committee member or Board member 

• Calls/messages/in-person reports from Coaches, Parents or Players 

3. In-season Decisions

• Quick consultation process within SC when offenses occur 

• Initial calls from the field, when alleged offenses occur, go to SC chair 

• President "on call" every night of season to consult with SC and Player Agent re: offenses when they occur 

• For minor consequences: 2 responses required to serve as adequate input for consequence. If other SC member have questions about decision - email to all SC members asking for input within 24-48 hours 

• SC chair calls Board Executive Committee members with decision for approval

• After a warning is issued, or after a game suspension, when coach/player/parent returns to the field, one SC member will be present for a minimum of 1-2 games to observe coach/parent/player in action

4. Communication re: Offenses & Sanctions by Sportsmanship Committee 

• Email first to all alleged violators from SC chair. (Message can be drafted by any SC member.) 

• E-messages will include request to discuss violation by phone call within 24 hours as an attempt to understand the situation and hopefully reach a solution involving a lower-level sanction. (Phone calls can be made by any SC member appointed by SC chair, who will then send e-message summarizing conversation to rest of SC.) 

• Final sanction decisions will be sent to violators via email, again with an offer to discuss by phone if desired. 

• Sportsmanship Committee will establish a log of offenses, maintained by the Committee’s Secretary that will track warnings & sanctions issued, to enable accurate assessment of additional sanctions, when necessary.

IV. Appeal Process once Penalties Assessed 

1. Written appeal to Board 

2. At Board’s discretion, verbal, in-person appeal to Board for certain more serious offenses 

3. Decision timeframes - 1 week (if offenses happen during season, i.e. before playoffs start); 1 day (if offenses happen during playoffs); 1 month (if offenses happen in last game of season/playoffs or for any reason go undecided before end of season) 

V.  Training of umpires re: sportsmanship rules and penalties 

A.  Instruct umpires to go over key sportsmanship guidelines with coaches & players before each game

B. Also instruct umpires to explain key rules and their own style of umpiring to both teams’ players and coaches before each game. 

C. SC Chair will ensure that umpire training includes a review of all Sportsmanship Codes of Conduct and of the above Sanctions report. 

• SC members attending any game may approach umpires for that game to remind them of Codes of Conduct and Sanctions, as appropriate. 

• Umpires will be instructed to report sportsmanship violations to their supervisor within 24 hours of occurrence, who in turn will be instructed to report them to the SC Chair within 24 hours of notification.