New rule isn’t fair with football

It’s likely the PIAA will pass a new rule that will lengthen suspensions for athletes and coaches who direct foul and abusive language toward an official. But football players and coaches should take particular notice because “potty mouth” could sit them for about one-fourth of the regular season.

Last week, the PIAA passed, on a second reading basis, a new rule that calls for a “supplemental suspension” of two contests for athletes and coaches who are ejected from a game for foul and abusive language toward an official, or for making contact with an official. Currently, any athlete or coach ejected from a game, for whatever reason, is ineligible for only the next contest.

The new rule needs to pass only one more vote in June before it goes into effect for the 2020-21 school year.

PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said the reason for the proposed new rule is an increase in ejections for abusive language toward officials. For example, 255 football players were ejected in Pennsylvania last year, an increase of about 20% from a few years ago.

“The reports we’re getting about what is said to officials is beyond offensive. It’s horrible and it has to stop,” Lombardi said.

The proposed new rule has come under criticism from football coaches — and those coaches have a valid point. A two-game suspension in football is unlike a two-game suspension in most other sports. For example, basketball teams are permitted to play 22 regular-season games. Football teams are allowed to play only 10, and some play nine.

So, if a football player is ejected from a game for language toward an official, and he is on a team that has only nine regular-season games, he has to miss the next two games, or 22% of the season. That’s a lot.

I understand the PIAA wanting to do something about abuse toward officials. It is a growing problem. But maybe the PIAA should treat football a little differently. Why not make the abusive language suspension rule for football like the NCAA rule for targeting in football? In the NCAA, a player who is ejected for targeting in the second half of a game, must sit the rest of that game and the first half of the next game. A player ejected in the first half needs to sit only the remainder of that game.

How about this for the PIAA? A football player ejected for abusive language toward an official in the second half of a game, must sit the rest of that game, the entire next game, and the first half of the following game. In essence, it would be a 1½ game suspension. All other sports can fall under the two-game “supplemental suspension.”

And Mr. Lombardi, I do not charge a “finder’s fee” when a suggested rule is passed.

• The WPIAL has adopted a new rule for baseball next year where teams will be scheduled for section games against the same team in back-to-back days. This was instituted to hopefully make baseball more of a “team” game, where a team couldn’t use its No. 1 pitcher against the same team in both section games.

I like the rule. But oh, how the WPIAL has changed its thinking on this No. 1 pitcher thing.

Until a few years ago, a WPIAL team could use its No. 1 pitcher in the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship. That was the way the league set up its playoff bracket, despite some criticism from coaches. But the WPIAL changed, where the quarterfinals and semifinals were scheduled a couple days apart, which prohibited a team from using the same starting pitcher in those games.

• The WPIAL board of directors shot down a proposal from the WPIAL baseball committee that the semifinals and finals of the baseball playoffs be played in three-game series. I like the idea, but three-game