FARMINGTON – The idea of creating a more player-friendly environment for prep sports is a fine one, and one that needed to be addressed.

And if the vote total from member schools of the New Mexico Activities Association goes as expected, implementation of the so-called “Two Strikes” rule would go into place as soon as the new high school sports year begins later this summer.

The “Two Strikes” rule, as written by the NMAA is – on the surface – simple. But remember, it comes in two parts.

“Any time an egregious act of unsportsmanlike conduct by a team participant, including a coach, occurs two or more times during the same season, at the same school, in the same activity, the team will be suspended from participation in that activity for the remainder of the season.”

But that’s not all.

“Any time an egregious act of unsportsmanlike conduct by a non-team participant occurs two or more times during the same season, at the same school, in the same activity, the non-team member, along with all school spectators will be suspended from attendance in that activity for the remainder of the season.”

That means that not only do coaches or players need to mind their manners during games, but so do fans and parents.

These are all good ideas. Accountability is a wonderful thing, so long as everyone adheres to the idea of being a good sport and holding yourself accountable for your own actions.

But what happens if the worst case scenario takes place, and a fan or parent has to be ruled off the grounds for any length of time? Who’s in charge of enforcing that?

“I think the idea behind the rule is to prevent major issues that go above and beyond the normal passionate fan issues,” said Ben Tensay, Bloomfield School District’s athletic director. “It does provide a huge amount of support knowing that schools can get the backing from the NMAA.”

Professional sports teams, and the leagues under which they operate, have security details protecting the athletes. The arenas and stadiums in which their games are played are monitored by security forces. The same is true for most professional and collegiate sports.

The National Football League at one time required fans who were kicked out of a stadium for being unruly to take a four-hour online class that cost $75 and pass a code-of-conduct test for readmittance.

High schools may not have that same luxury. Added security details cost money, they require man power and may actually make a potentially bad situation worse if unruly fans actually had to face consequences for repeated inappropriate actions.

In Millwood, Oklahoma, another state to recently pass the “two strikes” initiative, the school district’s director of operations, Shannon Hayes, went so far as to add people to the stands at high school games that would monitor potentially outrageous behavior.

Coaches and administrators all have an idea of what effective implementation might look like, but also want those actions to be a last resort.

“As a coach, I’d have no problem having a conversation with a fan about behavior that would impact my team,” said Navajo Prep head boys basketball coach Matt Melvin. “Now, how far is too far is where it gets messy.”

The “Two Strikes” rule effectively puts the decision on whether to eject a fan on game officials, but that could be easier said than done in certain instances.

“I’ve seen referees that have thick skin and understand that some stuff comes with being in that position,” Melvin said. “And I’ve seen others that if anybody says anything, they’re shutting down the gym.”

Cory Gropp, who will be serving as a first-year athletic director for Aztec High School, says that being aware of situations will be important for his coaches and administrators.

“To catch it before the referees or umpires have to get involved is key,” Gropp said. “If there is an issue, we would have to increase the coverage at any game to ensure we don’t have any NMAA infractions.”

The consequences of unruly behavior, as evidenced by the language of the rule, could be extreme.

“The last thing we need is to cancel the rest of a season for any sport or having to close down games to spectators,” Gropp said.

The idea of the “Two Strikes” rule is one that has definite merits, and in this reporter’s opinion, is one that may very well have long term benefits.

The implementation and enforcement of such a rule, however, may well be a dicey one if such a situation arises.