American Youth Soccer Organization
Eugene Region 53
Policy against discrimination, intimidation
& bullying
(Adopted January 2007, reviewed January 2008)

Article I. Statement of Policy 

AYSO Eugene Region 53 prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, as defined by this policy, against players or volunteers at any AYSO-sponsored or approved event.  AYSO Eugene expects that all volunteers and players will provide equal treatment and access to all AYSO programs and services including team formation, volunteer positions and financial aid/scholarship programs without regard to their disability, race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, cultural background, familial status, physical characteristic, or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group. 

Section 1.01 Definitions: 

(a) “Discrimination” means any act that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably differentiating in treatment, based on disability, race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, cultural background, familial status, physical characteristics, or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group.

(b) “Harassment” means unwanted behavior of a nonverbal, verbal, written, graphic, sexual, or physical nature that is directed at an individual or group of players on the basis of disability, race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, cultural background, familial status, physical characteristic, or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group.

(c) “Intimidation or bullying” means any act that substantially interferes with a player’s ability to attend practices, play in games or otherwise participate in the sport of soccer within Eugene AYSO’s program.  Registered Volunteers performing their jobs as part of AYSO Region 53 are also protected from intimidation or bullying behavior from players or parents or Intimidation can include: 

(i) Physically harming a player or endangering a player’s property;

(ii) Knowingly placing a player in reasonable fear of physical harm to the player or damage to the player’s property;

(iii) Creating a hostile educational environment through action or word

 

Article II
Eugene AYSO’s Responsibility

Volunteers will follow written policy to ensure that players are not discriminated against, harassed, intimidated, or bullied based on disability, race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, marital status, socioeconomic status, cultural background, familial status, physical characteristic, or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group, with regard to the following:  Providing reasonable access to all AYSO practices, games, registration events and end of season tournaments or celebrations; 

Responsibilities: 

Section 1.02
Prohibit players and parents from the use of terms that are derogatory against other players or parents or against AYSO volunteer staff, volunteer coaches or volunteer referees through word or appropriate action;   

Section 1.03
Any AYSO volunteer or player or parent who has knowledge of conduct in violation of this policy shall immediately report his or her concern to one or more of the following individuals:

(a) Regional Commissioner or Assistant Regional Commissioner

(b) Child & Volunteer Protection Advocate

(c) Regional Coach Administrator and/or Team Coach

(d) Referee present at game

 

Section 1.04
Potential Resolutions

Depending on the severity of the incident, one or more of the following resolutions will be recommended by the AYSO Region 53 Board of Directors as the solution to the disagreement between the parties involved in the harassment or intimidation altercation.  

1)  request for apology to the team or to an individual player, either written and/or verbal,

2)  removal from the team for a single game and accompanying practices,

3)  removal from the team for an ordered number of games and accompanying practices, or a

4)  complete suspension from the team for the remainder of the season without refund of registration fees, or in the most extreme case,

5)  suspension of the player from the Region for the remainder of the season and for a finite or infinite number of future seasons or refusal of registration of player or players into the current or finite or infinite number of future seasons.

 

The preceding list is not meant as an all-inclusive list of possible remedies for failure to adhere to or abide by the harassment policy; rather it is to serve as a guideline for AYSO Eugene administration, coach and referee volunteers as they carry out their respective jobs and balance the needs of the affected players with those of the other party, the team and the rest of that division and the region as a whole.  As the case may require or warrant, individuals may also be referred to law enforcement officials.

In cases in which currently registered or returning AYSO volunteers or players are being harassed, either in writing or verbally, or are being bullied or are being threatened by word or action by newly registered player(s) or parent(s) or volunteer(s) or in which the presence of said new player(s) or parent(s) or volunteer(s) would serve to significantly impact the current volunteer(s) or player(s) or parent(s)  participation in the league, AYSO administration witholds the right to act to maintain its sports relationship with those parties of longest good standing with the organization as a whole. 

Registrant(s) or volunteer(s) whose registrations are terminated as a result of the above policy will NOT receive a refund if the termination is occurring after the start of regularly scheduled games.   

Section 1.05
Retaliation

Retaliation against any player, who reports, is thought to have reported, files a complaint or otherwise participates in an investigation or inquiry is prohibited.

Such retaliation shall be considered a serious violation of policy and independent of whether a complaint is substantiated.   False charges shall also be regarded as a serious offense and will result in disciplinary action or other appropriate sanctions. 

Section 1.06
AYSO Volunteers shall NOT do the following: 

Treat one player differently from another in determining whether he or she satisfies any requirement or condition for the provision of the program, service, benefit, or other aid;

Provide programs, services, benefits, or other aid, in a manner that differentiates among players;

Deny any player such programs, services, benefits, or other aid without basis;

Subject any player to separate or different rules of behavior, sanctions, or other treatment from other players in like situations or circumstances;

Otherwise limit any player in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity available to all players;

Allow the parent(s) or guardian(s) of any player to adversely impact the enjoyment of any one player’s or a team’s overall experience through their actions at the field at practices and games.  This includes behavior in violation of Region 53’s rules governing the use or presence of alcohol, tobacco and pets/animals at all games and practices. 

Allow player-to-player harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or bullying and will take direct action when it is observed or reported;

Allow retaliation against any person who reports, is thought to have reported, files a complaint or otherwise participates in an investigation or inquiry. 

Section 1.07
OBLIGATION TO REPORT

A player or his or her parent or guardian who believes that the player is the recipient of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying from another player, board member, or volunteer is encouraged to report the incident to the staff member on duty at the time or to the player’s coach or to an AYSO board member.  Information may be presented anonymously. 

Coaches, referees or any other AYSO volunteer who observe players engaging in discriminatory, harassing, intimidating, or bullying behaviors are responsible for taking action to deal with the behavior AND for reporting the incident to the Region CVPA, the Regional Commissioner and/or the Region Assistant Commissioner within 24 hours of observing the behaviors mentioned previously.  Information relayed should include the date & time of the incident, the names of the parties involved (if possible), the coaches of the teams involved, the refereeing officials present and a detailed summary of the event. 

Section 1.08
FINAL DECISION

(a) If the situation allows, there will be an attempt to assist players and/or parents in resolving concerns and issues prior to the use of the formal disciplinary or complaint procedures. This may include counseling, education, mediation and/or other opportunities for problem solving between both parties.  However, the severity of a specific incident may require immediate disciplinary action which may include immediate dismissal of the parent & player from Eugene AYSO’s current and/or future season of players. 

(b) Final decision on the participation of any parent, player or volunteer rests with the Board of Directors and/or the Regional Commissioner.  In situations of immediate danger to other players or volunteers or in situations in which the harassment is ongoing and is not able to be stopped by normal means, the Regional Commissioner may make an immediate and final decision about an individual’s ability to participate in the current or future season without asking for or receiving the input of the Board of Directors.  His or her decision is binding upon the Region and there is no arbitration or mediation process available to the impacted parties.  No refund will be given to the parties. 

(c) Reinrollment for future seasons is not guaranteed.  Each case in which discipline has been taken will be considered separately and if a registration application is presented for a future season for the player or parents involved in the disciplinary issue, a vote will be taken by the Board of Directors in order to decide whether this player will be allowed to register for that season.  No message or information will be sent out ahead of time as to a player’s registration status until that information is requested by the appropriate parent or guardian.  Preference will be given to players who have completed the recommended disciplinary action and whose parents were supportive of the need to censure, remove or discipline said player.