Please see below the detailed excerpts from the NOLA APA Bylaws regarding sportsmanship, how to handle sportsmanship issues and the penalties associated for infractions. Please help us keep APA a fun avenue of recreation for our membership! Thanks for your cooperation.

SPORTSMANSHIP PROBLEMS 

Disregarding the rules, grudges, personal problems, racial and sexual discrimination or harassment in any form, and members simply interested in causing trouble, will not be tolerated by the League Office. Intoxication will not be accepted as an excuse. Severe action will be taken against teams or players who harass or threaten other APA members. If you have members on your team who may put your team in conflict with the APA sportsmanship policies, please correct their behavior or drop them from the team. These members will, at a minimum, receive a warning letter and can be suspended upon further review. If you feel that you have a valid complaint against a player on the other team, please handle the situation as follows: 

a. Have your Captain/Co-Captain politely inform the other Captain/Co-Captain about your concern. Under no circumstances should you argue with, or otherwise further provoke, the offending member(s). Remember, you are always free to keep quiet or leave the establishment and then have your Captain send a formal complaint to the League Office. If you decide to worsen an already bad situation, by attempting to defend your honor or your ego, the League Office will hold you responsible for helping to escalate the problem. If you are subjected to verbal abuse, or physical threats, let the League Office take care of these situations. If the problem cannot be resolved, proceed as follows: 

b. If a player match is in progress, and your Captain/Co-Captain has no other option but to stop the match and "officially" file a protest ...they should reference the section titled "Protesting A Player Match". If sportsmanship problems continue after the next match is started, stop that match and all remaining matches for the evening, and politely leave the establishment even if it is your "Home" location. The team/players causing the problem will face possible suspension. 

c. If you are between matches after having officially protested a match, and the other team is still causing trouble, you can extend the initial "official protest" to include the remainder of your matches as described 18 in (b.) above and then politely leave the premises. 

d. If the problem de-escalates and no official protest is required, simply have your Captain complete a written statement describing the problem, the members involved, and the Captain/Co-Captain with whom they tried to resolve the problem. Include the names and membership numbers of any witnesses. 

e. If any members of your team are threatened with violent behavior by anyone "on or with" the other team, your team is always free to leave the establishment. The League Office will decide whether the matches will be replayed, whether points will be awarded for the remaining matches, etc.

f. In order to fully describe the problem, your Captain may use the enclosed "Protest Form", the back of your score sheet, or simply write a note and place in your "payment envelope". While you are always welcome to call the League Office, no action will be taken unless you file an "official protest" and submit the protest fee. 

PENALTIES FOR SPORTSMANSHIP VIOLATIONS 

1.) Committing physical violence, or being "restrained" from committing physical violence, during league play or "as the result of an incident that occurred during league play", is an automatic indefinite suspension. 

2.) Threatening physical violence is an automatic minimum 6 months to 2 year suspension (must be reviewed and final decision made by the League Office). 

3.) Your first "minor" problem results in a letter to your Team Captain. You are free to call or write the League Office to explain the situation. 

4.) Your second "minor" problem results in a letter directly to you. Once again, you are free to call or write the League Office to explain the situation. 

5.) Your third "minor" problem results in an automatic 30-90 day suspension (must be investigated and felt to be valid by the League Office). 

6.) Your fourth "minor" problem results in an automatic 6 months to 2 year suspension (must be reviewed and final decision made by the League Office). 

7.) Your fifth "minor" problem results in an automatic indefinite suspension (must be reviewed and final decision made by the League Office). 

Note: Sportsmanship problems that escalate at Higher Level Tournaments will result in much more severe penalties (minimum 6 mos. - indefinite suspension). As you can see, our sportsmanship program is designed to identify and remove the real troublemakers from the league. All suspended members will be removed from any and all rosters and those individuals must call the league office to be reinstated once their suspension period is complete. The League Office greatly appreciates you taking the time to write the complaint and your help in keeping your division free from these problems. As long as "your team" shows good sportsmanship and handles situations according to the current Bylaws, you will always be doing the right and correct thing. 

Creating a confrontation with your opponents by claiming that the skill level of one or more of their team members is under-rated, or that they are not maintaining the inning and defensive shot counts properly, is one sure way to get yourself in trouble with the League Office and to ruin the evening for the other fifteen league members who may be present. If you have a question concerning the current skill level of a member, or the inning and defensive shot counts of the other team, you should quietly call it to the attention of your Captain and then simply forget about it and continue to enjoy the evening. If your Captain agrees, they can write us a note and the player will be reviewed. Remember, nothing is going to happen that evening to change that person's skill level, so please make the best of it and let the League Office handle the situation. If you insist upon starting trouble with the other team over these issues you will be considered as acting in an unsportsmanlike manner and in violation of the rules.