Borough of Florham Park, NJ Athletic Code of Conduct

The written form of acknowledgment adopted and incorporated under the provisions of this chapter as the "Borough of Florham Park Athletic Code of Conduct Agreement," or otherwise implemented by a sports organization with the express approval of the Borough of Florham Park.

CODE OF CONDUCT

A written specification of the behavior of parents, guardians, players, spectators, coaches and officials adopted and implemented by each sports organization which must at a minimum incorporate this chapter and shall be agreed to in writing by the participant and the parents or legal guardian of each minor participant of any sports organization that utilizes any facility, sports field or other property owned, operated or maintained by the Borough of Florham Park.

SPORTS EVENT

Any competition, practice, clinic or instructional event involving one or more sports teams or organizations at a facility, sports field or other property owned, operated, or maintained by Florham Park.

SPORTS ORGANIZATION

Any sports association, league, charter club or club which is affiliated with, or receives monetary or other support from, the Borough of Florham Park or the Borough of Florham Park Recreation Department, or utilizes any facility, sports field or other property owned, operated, or maintained by Florham Park. Sometimes "sports organization" may also be referred to as "sports organization" or "sports team."

§ 81-2 Requirement to establish a code of conduct.

Any sports organization that receives funding from the Borough of Florham Park, or utilizes any facility, sports field or other property owned, operated or maintained by the Borough of Florham Park, shall be required to adopt and implement a Code of Conduct incorporating, at a minimum, the provisions of this chapter.

The parent(s) or guardian(s) of any minor, and each participant, in any sports organization shall be required to execute an athletic code of conduct agreement acknowledging that they have received and read the sports organization's code of conduct and that they agree to be bound thereby. The form of acknowledgement shall be as indicated on the "Borough of Florham Park Athletic Code of Conduct Agreement" adopted under this chapter or in a form expressly approved and authorized by the Borough of Florham Park.

Each sports organization shall be responsible for providing notice of the code of conduct to each player and the parents and guardians of each child participating in sports events within the Borough of Florham Park.

Any sports organization which utilizes any facility, sports field or property that is owned, operated or maintained by the Borough of Florham Park shall also be responsible for providing notice of the code of conduct to each visiting sports team headquartered outside of the Borough of Florham Park and for ensuring the enforcement of the provisions of the code of conduct during all sports events.

§ 81-3 Proscribed conduct, acts and behavior.

The following conduct, acts and behavior are prohibited:

(1)

Any parent, guardian, player, spectator, coach or official at any sports event who initiates a fight, scuffle, or any type of physical abuse or threats of abuse towards any player, coach, official, parent, or spectator.

(2)

Any parent, guardian, player, spectator, coach or official at any sports event who enters the field of play, court or rink during any sporting event for the purpose of physically or verbally abusing or confronting coaches, players or officials.

(3)

Any parent, guardian, player, spectator, coach or official at any sports event who verbally abuses officials, players or spectators including the use of obscene or profane language or gestures, racial, ethnic or sexual slurs.

(4)

Any parent, guardian, player, spectator, coach or official at any sports event who throws or causes to be deposited any object on the field of play, court or rink during any sports event.

(5)

Any parent, guardian or signatory at any sports event who commits any act in violation of the Athletic Code of Conduct Agreement adopted or approved pursuant to this chapter.

§ 81-4 Authority of sports officials.

Any parent, official, coach or spectator at any sporting event shall be subject to the authority of all field officials, including umpires and referees, authorized volunteers and elected league officials of the sports team or teams sponsoring the sports event or in the absence of such persons at a sports team's practice or instructional event to the authority of the ranking sports team coach on the premises. Such authority shall include the authorization to direct any person or persons involved in any incident in violation of this chapter or the applicable sports team's code of conduct to immediately remove themselves from the premises.

§ 81-5 Code of Conduct Committee.

The Borough of Florham Park hereby establishes the Code of Conduct Committee, which shall be authorized to review any appeals for penalties imposed by any sports organization for violations of this chapter. The Code of Conduct Committee shall be convened at the request of the Recreation Director for matters requiring such review and shall be made up of at least three but not more than seven persons, who shall be appointed by the Recreation Director. A Committee quorum shall consist of a majority of members of the Committee, and decisions by the Committee must be supported by greater than a majority of the quorum present to hear appeals. The Committee may also consist of up to two alternate members in the event of any conflict of interest or unavailability of a Committee Member.

§ 81-6 Violations penalties; enforcement.

Any person determined to have violated the provisions of this chapter may be banned from attendance at all sports events for a period to be determined by the sports organization. A permanent ban may be imposed in the event of a second or subsequent violation of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude the imposition of any additional penalties or discipline as provided for under the provisions of the applicable sports organization's bylaws, organizing documents, rules, regulations or code of conduct, or by any participating league's code of conduct or rules and regulations.

Any person banned for 12 months from sports events for a violation of this Code of Conduct prior to being allowed to resume attendance at any sports event shall be required to complete anger management or equivalent counseling program consisting of no less than 12 hours of instruction and shall provide proof of satisfactory completion to the Code of Conduct Committee. Any banning for less than 12 months may include up to 12 hours of anger management.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude or limit the application of any other remedy, civil or criminal, provided under any other provision of law, nor shall it impair the ability of any participating sports organization from imposing any penalties it shall deem appropriate. Such penalties by the participating league may be considered by the sport organization's Code of Conduct or the Borough of Florham Park Code of Conduct Committee when imposing any penalty under this chapter.

§ 81-7 Violation procedures and hearing.

When it is determined that a person has violated this chapter after a hearing before the sports organization's officers, or the organization's committee to hear Code of Conduct violations, the organization shall forward a letter to such violator notifying him or her of the date, location, and nature of the violation, as well as the period of banning and/or other action taken in response to such violation. The letter shall be delivered via regular and certified mail, or by personal delivery, and if mailed, the effective date shall be the date of mailing. Personal delivery shall be effective on delivery.

Any person receiving such a notice who wishes to contest same shall appeal to the Borough of Florham Park Code of Conduct Committee within seven calendar days of the mailing of said notice by forwarding a copy of said notice with a written request for appeal specifically setting forth the basis of such person's contest of the notice of violation. The request for appeal shall be delivered personally or by regular and certified mail to the Borough of Florham Park Recreation Director at Borough of Florham Park Municipal Building, 111 Ridgedale Avenue, Florham Park, New Jersey 07932. If mailed, the effective date of the notice shall be the date of mailing.

Upon receipt of such an appeal, the Code of Conduct Committee shall convene within 10 days and provide an opportunity for said person and any interested persons to appear and be heard with respect to the occurrence of any violation and the action taken by the sports organization. The sports organization issuing any violation must be notified of the date and time of the hearing.

The Code of Conduct Committee shall be authorized to hear testimony under oath, review affidavits and such other information or documentation relevant to the violation. The Committee, upon a majority vote of the members present at such hearing, may sustain, overturn, or modify the notice of violation and the period of banning or other action taken in response to such violation consistent with this chapter or the sports team by-laws or Code of Conduct.

All Notices of violation and bannings shall remain in effect until overturned or modified by the Code of Conduct Committee.

In the event any notice of violation is not appealed within 10 days of such notice, said notice of violation and the action taken by the sports team official, including banning from sports events, shall become final.