NJSIAA starting campaign to address bad behavior at sporting events

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is set to roll out a campaign next week to address fans and coaches who behave poorly at high school sporting events.

They told News 12 that the National Federation of State High School Associations will be rolling out the hashtag “Bench Bad Behavior” campaign as unruly behavior at high school sporting events is contributing to the shortage of officials available to ref games.

"We're looking forward to all of the member schools in the state of New Jersey to participate in this program we call fan zero which is zero tolerance for bad behavior," said NJSIAA's Billy Martin.

In the last five years, over 50,000 officials have quit. That equals to about 20% of the population of all officials in all sports.

"When you ask them why, when you poll them and ask them why, the majority and the number one reason is the abuse they get from fans," added Martin.

The campaign isn't just pertinent to ice hockey, as it will pertain to all winter sports like basketball and wrestling. The initiative will include social media posts, onsite signs, flyers, announcements and contracts with parents.

For the most part, the parents respect one another because we're all from neighboring towns," said Janice Moench, Manalapan. "Anybody that acts inappropriately should be ejected.

The NJSIAA recently launched a program to address the shortage of officials by offering a $300 rebate to any new officials who join the organization and gets certified.