OFFICIAL RULES                RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 36
SECTION 1 --  DELIBERATE AND FLAGRANT FOULS.  Deliberate or flagrant personal fouls can be either physical or behavioral with each form requiring immediate disqualification of the offender from the game and/or removal from the field playing area.  The flagrant foul violator's team is to be assessed a 20 YARD PENALTY that is not to be modified by any half-distance standard  as applicable for less severe fouls or violations.  Flagrant foul violators are to be recorded by jersey number if a player or by name if a team coach or staff person on the GAME REPORT CARD and by this and verbal notice reported to the Program.

Article 1 - Flagrant Personal Fouls.  The following are flagrant physical fouls:
  1. Any physical act or contact directed towards a referee to include touching, placing a hand(s) on the official's body, or other unauthorized physical contact initiated by a participant.
  2. Any physical act against an opponent at or beyond a side-line, end-line or goal-line.
  3. Any identifiable act that involves swinging an arm, hand, knee or foot at or in the direction of another player no matter whether physical contact is made.
  4. Any third-person violation when a participant joins with an intent to participate any incident on or near a field.
  5. An intentional tackle of any player.
  6. Any physical foul judged by its intent to be aimed at injury of another participant or that by its nature is not usually included in normal game play.
Article 2 - Flagrant Behavioral Fouls.  The following are flagrant behavioral fouls:
  1. Any direct or implied threat directed towards a referee.
  2. Any spiking, kicking or other action that involves the game-ball, referee flag or equipment, game or field equipment.
  3. Any demonstration, celebration, gesturing, or other demeaning behavioral act that is not usual in game action after a team has been warned for and penalized for a similar violation.
  4. Any act that could incite an opponent on the field or sideline or spectators by gesture, posture, or other physical acts to include "trash-talking" after a team has once been warned and penalized for a similar violation.
  5. Illegal entry onto the playing-surface of a field by a coach, team staff member or substitute.
  6. Continued or prolonged disputation, argument or commentary directed at referee(s) either directly, as an aside or by implication of conversation after once being warned to cease such talk.

OFFICIAL RULES                RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 37
SECTION 2 -- UNSPORTSMANLIKE ACTS. 

Article 1 - Personal Physical Fouls.  Following are defined as major physical fouls:
  1. Any physical foul in violation of the deflagging code to include but not be limited to acts against the passer, receiver or ball-carrier; intentional deflagging a player not the ball-carrier; and, any act that plays the body of another player and not the ball or the flag.
  2. Roughing a passer.
  3. Roughing a Receiver.
  4. A push, shove, or physically-bodying a ball-carrier out-of-bounds if not included in a bona-fide try at deflagging.
  5. An act of jumping or hurdling or an attempt to jump or hurdle a standing opponent or one on the ground who is kneeling upright.
  6. An act of jumping or leaving the feet to advance the ball.
  7. Any intentional leg-whip or trip of another player.
  8. Any participation in a play by a player who is on the ground.
  9. Intentional interference (contact judged not to be incidental nor accidental) on a pass play when this action is judged to be a substitute for being able to properly defend a pass as allowed in the Rules.
  10. Any ball-carrier initiated physical contact judged to be a means to defend against a deflagging effort by employing a hand, arm, elbow, forearm, shoulder or body that is to include the use or  attempt to employ a straight-arm.
  11. All physical actions to an opponent obviously not involved in a play before or after the ball is declared dead.
  12. Any physical contact to a receiver when a pass is obviously not catchable.  This is a personal foul and not pass interference.
  13. Any interference foul committed within 15 yards of the scrimmage-line.
  14. Any unsportsmanlike physical act resulting in a 15 yard penalty.
  15. All violations of Rules governing defenders play either the ball or flag-belt.
The following are excluded from being major physical foul violations:
  1. Holding.
  2. Incidental or accidental pass-interference when the foul is judged to have been either minor or not committed with intent.
Article 2 - Blocking Fouls.  Following are defined as major physical fouls in blocking:
  1. Illegal physical action that involve the use of the feet, legs or knee; any grabbing or holding of any body part or clothing of another player whether by intent or accident; and, any physical contact to an opponent below the waist, above the shoulder-line or to the back.
OFFICIAL RULES                 RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 38
  1. Participating in a play after falling to the ground either from a prone or kneeling position.
  2. Blocking with elbow inside a vertical line of the shoulder to the ground.
  3. Swinging, throwing or flipping the elbow or fore-arm as a part of the blocking act; or, entering a block with elbow(s) foremost.
  4. Running at or striking an opponent with rigidly-extended arms; or, use of a closed-fist or clasped-hands in the blocking act.
  5. Any high-low block simultaneously or near-simultaneously delivered by a pair of players on the same team.
  6. Any double-team block delivered to an opponent outside the legal clip-zone.
  7. Any physical blocking act that seeks to assist the forward movement of the ball-carrier as gained when a blocker throws the body against that of the ball-carrier.
  8. Any act that pushes, shoves or otherwise directs another player into the part or person of a ball-carrier.
Article 3 - Deflagging Fouls.  Following are defined as major physical deflagging fouls:
  1. Body contact initiated by a defender to a ball-carrier in an attempt to deflag that does not occur simultaneous with and as a part of a bona-fide deflagging try.
  2. Any grabbing, holding, shoving or pushing of the ball-carrier in the act prior to a deflagging try.
  3. Physically in any manner obstructing the path of a ball-carrier either in person or by pushing, shoving or otherwise forcing another player into the ball-carrier's path.
  4. A second or subsequent violation of a defender not returning the detached flag-belt to the ball-carrier or referee after a deflagging.  A team will be warned for the first such violation in a game and have five-yard penalties imposed thereafter for each later violation.
  5. A push, shove or trip of the ball-carrier or the use of hands, arms or body to force a ball-carrier towards or over a sideline when done without making a bona-fide attempt to deflag.
  6. A ball-carrier's use of a straight-arm or other physical acts to aim to protect the flags from a defender such as shielding the flags with hand or arm or fending off an opponent with forearm, elbow or body.
  7. Intentionally deflagging an opponent not the ball-carrier.
  8. Intentionally leaving the feet to deflag.  A player who in falling also deflags or one who falls after a deflagging is not automatically guilty of a foul.
  9. Any violation of the One-Hand Touch Rule requirements that when needed such a touch be with one-hand, open-palmed and delivered in a non-violent manner to the jersey-area of the ball-carrier above the waist and below the neck line.
OFFICIAL RULES                 RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 39
Article 4 - Personal Behavioral Fouls.  Following are defined as major behavioral fouls:
  1. All behavioral violations as stated in Program Rules and Regulations or those added to these documents.
  2. Abusive or insulting language or gestures directed at opponents, game or Program officials or staff, and spectators.
  3. Audibly profane language before, during or after a game at or near a field of play even when not directed at a person.
  4. Actions that delay the start of a half; or, a second and later violations of any type that delay play in the game.
  5. A second or later violation by wearing of illegal equipment or items.
  6. Wearing a jersey by number not registered to a player and without having received approval from Program staff or game officials beforehand.
  7. Taunting by word, gesture or posture with these acts broadly defined to include any word or action directed at or between opponents that demean, disparage, ridicule, or insult when these occur from the results of a play when judged by content, tone, timing, or intent to violate the sense of good sportsmanship.
  8. Entrance without permission by a coach, other team staff or reserve players onto the playing-surface of a field; or, interference in any manner with the progress of a game.
  9. When a coach, team staff person or reserve player interferes in any way with a player then in the game or a play then underway while the ball is alive.  The Referee may impose any penalty judged to be appropriate including the awarding of a score.
  10. Unsportsmanlike action, demonstration, or celebration judged not to be normal or not be unnecessary to the continuation of normal game play to include any action that makes a travesty of a game or mocks an opponent.
  11. Unnecessary talking to an opponent to include any "trash-talking" after a team has once been warned for such a violation.
  12. Use of an ineligible person to coach, serve as team staff, play or be in association with a team at a game.
SECTION 3 -- AUTOMATIC FIRST-DOWN.  All major defensive team fouls or violations that carry a 10 or greater yardage penalty even if the full-yardage is not imposed, award the opponent a first-down.  All pass-interference fouls regardless of yardage applied for their penalty, award the opponent an automatic first-down.

SECTION 4 -- UNFAIR ACTS.  The following are defined as Unfair Acts:
  1. Refusal to play within two-minutes after being ordered to do so by the Referee.
  2. Interfering with the continuation of the game.
  3. Use of obviously unfair or unsportsmanlike acts not specifically covered in the Rules.
  4. Repeated fouls or violations by a team which can be penalized only by halving the distance to its goal-line.
  5. Any act, which in the opinion of a referee, tends to make a travesty of the game.  The referee may enforce any penalty considered to be appropriate, including the awarding of a score.
  6. Continued disobedience of Referee order to be quiet, cease constant disputation, complaining, or questioning the decisions of officials; or, any negative commentary made directly or obliquely towards or about the referees shall after one warning result in major penalties including disqualification of offenders and even forfeiture of the game.
  7. Simulating substitutions or replacement if players in a manner designed to deceive or confuse the opponent.
  8. Use of unusual formation without following the Rule requirements set for such use.

SECTION 5 -- PROFANITY.  During a game, a participant who utters any profanity not audible on a sideline or end-line will be warned for the first violation and disqualified for a second violation.  Public profanity, or that which can be heard off the field will result in immediate disqualification.  A participant on a sideline who utters profanity in public will be ordered from the field area.

OFFICIAL RULES                  RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 40
SECTION 6 -- TAUNTING.  A participant who taunts an opponent whether on or off the field may be warned with assessment of a full yardage penalty for the first violation and be disqualified for a second violation.  If warned, a second violation in a game will result in ineligibility for the next game.

A participant charged with a taunting violation after having been charged with a major physical or behavioral foul is to be automatically disqualified from the game without warning and be ineligible for at least one subsequent game.  A participant charged with a second taunting violation in a season will be disqualified for the remainder of the season.

SECTION 7 -- PROHIBITED THEATRICS, CELEBRATIONS AND UNUSUAL PHYSICAL ACTS.  The following are defined as unacceptable theatrics, celebrations or physical acts not considered normal in the playing of a game:  group or individual demonstrations of celebration or accomplishment following the result of a play or score; or, any physical act by an individual player deemed to not be consistent with normal game play when it verges on or is interpretable to be taunting as broadly-defined.  All such violations are major behavioral violations with each to carry a full penalty yardage application with warning or disqualification:
  1. Spiking, throwing or kicking the ball or any manipulation of the ball not consistent with routine game play.
  2. Any delay by a scorer in reporting to an official for the required deflagging.
  3. Not returning the ball to a referee by hand or toss at the end of any down including one on which a score occurs.
  4. Kicking, holding or throwing a referee penalty flag or any item of game or field equipment.
  5. Kicking or throwing team equipment onto the playing-surface of a field; or, abusing on a sideline team or field equipment.
  6. Any physical act judged to be theatric that celebrates the result of a play or score to include but not be limited to assuming an unnatural stride in running; scoring in an unnatural manner by diving head-first or backward over a goal; any dance or physical demonstration involving a waving of the arms, prancing, jumping, tumbling or diving; self-congratulatory physical behavior or engaging in any performance with exaggerated physical action; showing the ball while at a run to an opponent on the field or sideline; or, the holding of the ball out or up in the air as a "trophy" or waving or otherwise acting unnaturally as to routine game play while possessing or directly after possessing the ball.
  7. All acts that include team-mates in planned or spontaneous celebration after a play or score to include orchestrated bumping, dance or other acts of a ceremonial nature.
  8. Any behavior such as chanting, singing or posing after a play or score that can be broadly judged as verging or being taunting of the opponents.


OFFICIAL RULES                  RULE 9   CONDUCT OF PLAYERS AND OTHERS SUBJECT TO RULES                              PAGE 41
SECTION 8 -- SPOT FOUL PENALTY PROVISION FOR THEATRIC ACTS.  A team who has a player guilty of a theatric foul violation may face the following penalties:
  1. A warning for the first violation with full 20 yard penalty.
  2. Being subject to immediate imposition of the "spot-foul" Rule if the violation occurred during the progress of a down.  In treating these violations as a spot-foul, the spot where the violation occurred or began is to be marked by referees and the results of the play beyond the spot of violation negated.  The ball is to be returned to the violation spot and the full 20 yard penalty yardage imposed from the spot together with an appropriate warning or disqualification.  In the event a score is affected by this Rule, the points scored are to be disallowed.
  3. If a theatric foul occurs in the end-zone or elsewhere on a play after a score even if the ball is dead, the points scored are to be disallowed and the ball returned to the spot of the foul if on the field or one-yard line if the violation occurred in the end-zone and a 20 yard penalty imposed against the offending team.
  4. Once a team has been warned and repeats a theatric act foul, the penalty shall be a full 20 yards and automatic disqualification of the offender.