Article XVI

RIGHTS TO PLAYERS

Section 16.1 Definitions of Terms

A player’s residence is the public school district serving his primary home residence. Disputes regarding a player’s residency or claims of dual residency shall be decided by the League’s Player Agent.

A player’s natural age level is determined by the youngest age level at which the player is eligible to participate in league play.

Official league roster means any team roster that a member has filed with ENYTB in any given year for purposes of participating in regular season league play at a specific age level and has been certified by ENYTB.

A protected player is any player appearing on the official league roster of an ENYTB registered team in the prior year and who appeared in a minimum of 3 league games in that year. Player rights shall extend to all affiliations regardless of the sanctioning choices of that player’s team.

A restricted player is any player aged 15 or younger, who has not previously qualified as a protected player, and who resides in the franchise area of an existing franchise owner.

A franchise player is any member’s protected or restricted player. The rights of any member to his franchise players shall extend to all affiliations regardless of any team’s sanctioning choices except as provided in section 10.5.

An unrestricted free agent is any player who is neither a protected player nor a restricted player and includes any player with a release.

A discretionary release is any written statement, including email, by a member to the League Player Agent or League Office to the effect that he is voluntarily relinquishing his league rights to a certain franchise player. In order to be eligible for a discretionary release, the franchise player and one of his parents/guardians must provide the player’s team owner (in the case of protected players) or his home franchise area owner(s) (in the case of restricted players) a written and signed request for a release.

A non-discretionary release is applicable to restricted players only and it provides the player’s home franchise area owner with a limited opportunity -15 days from the date the written request was received - to interest the player in participating in his program. In order to qualify for a non-discretionary release, the player and one of his parents/guardians must provide said player’s home franchise area owner(s) a written, signed and dated request for such a release as well as a reasonable opportunity to have discussions with the player to interest said player in playing in his program. Once the 15 day window of opportunity expires, the restricted player is granted a release by the League Player Agent and becomes an unrestricted free agent provided the home franchise area owner(s) has not petitioned the League Player Agent or the League Office to deny the release on the grounds that the player and his family failed to provide him with a sufficient opportunity to explain his program to them. Failure of the home franchise area owner to petition the League Player Agent prior to the conclusion of the 15 day window of opportunity shall result in the issuance of the release by the League.

Active recruiting in a predatory manner is any contact between a League member and another member’s protected or restricted player that ignores that member’s rights to said player as defined throughout Articles XVI and XVII herein, including the failure to ask sufficient questions to determine whether any such rights exist i.e., ignores the provisions of the League’s first contact protocol as defined in section 17.2, and the failure to request permission from the player's current club, before engaging in any recruiting activity with said player.

An elite program is a full-time travel program in the older age divisions, 16U and above, offering players a significantly higher level of competition than is offered within ENYTB. ENYTB players are allowed to participate on these teams, in ENYTB league play, without player releases (see Section 16.9).

Section 16.2 Rights To “Restricted Players”

It is important for League stability that members who have established a continuous program of repeat participation in the League’s younger age divisions, have an ample opportunity to replenish their younger aged teams with new players each year.

RULE 68 No restricted player can sign to play for any team outside his home franchise area without a non-discretionary release from the player’s home area franchise owner(s), except as provided in section 16.3 next.

It shall be the responsibility of each member or his representative to determine the League status of any player during his first encounter with said player (see section 17.2 - first contact protocol). Failure to observe a fellow member’s rights to either his restricted or protected players shall be construed as tampering.

Section 16.3 Restricted Player Exemptions

RULE 69 TEAM INACTIVITY EXEMPTION - Any player otherwise qualifying as restricted player but residing in a franchise area that does not have an active ENYTB team in the player's natural age level is a free agent. (A similar exemption applies to protected players.)

RULE 70 CUT EXEMPTION Any player otherwise qualifying as a restricted player restricted player who attempts to join a team from his home franchise area, in his natural age division, and is not provided a roster spot, for reasons other than unpaid registration fees, is a free agent.

RULE 71 PLAYING “UP” EXEMPTION - Any restricted player offered a roster spot on an ENYTB registered team in a higher age division and owned by another ENYTB full franchise member may transfer to that team without a release unless his home area club offers him a roster spot on a similar aged ENYTB team.

RULE 72 ELITE PROGRAM EXEMPTION - Any restricted player may join a qualified “elite program” team without a release, subject to the provisos of section 16.9 below.

Section 16.4 Rights To Restricted Players In Shared Franchise Area

The non-core area of many franchise areas is shared between or among franchise members. Less frequently, two franchises may share a secondary core area. In addition, a franchise may agree to host a sub-franchise and share its core area with that sub-franchise. Also, by definition, co-franchises share a common core area.

The following rules define how rights to restricted players are assigned when a franchise area is shared.

RULE 73 When a non-core or secondary core area is shared by two or more franchises, all such members shall have equal nonexclusive rights to all restricted players residing within the shared portion of the non-core area. Same as rule 35.

RULE 74 A player residing in a shared non-core area may play for the franchise of his choice from among those who share player rights in his home school district. This is a one time only option and once a player makes a choice to play for either team he is bound from that day forward by the League’s usual release rules. Same as rule 36.

RULE 75 Any restricted player residing in a shared non-core area, wanting to play for a franchise outside that area, must obtain his release from all franchises sharing player rights in his home area. Same as rule 37.

The rules governing rights to restricted players in common areas are the same for co-franchises as for franchises.

RULE 76 All co-franchise members shall have equal nonexclusive rights to all restricted players residing within their common franchise area (core and non-core).

RULE 77 Any restricted player residing in an area shared by two or more co-franchises shall be free to play for the member of his choice. This is a one time only option and once a player makes a choice to play for either co-franchise he is bound from that day forward by the League’s usual release rules.

RULE 78 Should a restricted player residing in the common area of two or more co-franchises want to play for a member outside his home area, he would need to obtain a release from all co-franchises sharing player rights in his home area.

Section 16.5 Restricted Player Declaration In Shared Franchise Area

RULE 79 Once any commitment, oral or written, is made by a parent or guardian on behalf of any restricted player residing in a shared area, to play for one or the other of the sharing teams, that team retains his exclusive playing rights throughout that player’s remaining eligibility for League play unless he is released.

All disputes in this regard shall be settled by the League Player Agent and his decisions may be appealed to the Player Eligibility Committee. Signed and dated written evidence (e.g., canceled check) shall be given preference over any verbal claims in such determinations. Verbal statements by a parent or the player to the effect that they have changed their mind shall not supercede the rules herein.

Section 16.6 Rights To Protected Players/Roster Protection

It is important for League stability that ENYTB grant roster protection to its existing members.

The rules in this section are sometimes referred to as the League’s “anti-piracy” rules because they are designed to prevent League teams from “pirating” or stealing roster players from each other. These rules go to the very integrity of a league. Very few teams would want to participate in a league that provided no roster protection. On the other hand, the League also recognizes that it is important that strong preferences by players to play for the team of their choice be accommodated as best as possible within this framework. The League’s rules on protected players, its exemptions to those rules and its player movement protocols (see Article XVII) were designed to balance both objectives.

RULE 80 Player eligibility in the current year shall be determined first by a player’s "primary" league participation in the prior year.

RULE 81 Each member shall have the exclusive right to any player designated as primary on its official league roster from the prior year, subject to the exemption provisions of Section 16.7 next.

RULE 81A Any player having previously participated in the league but was not on the official league roster of any league team in the prior year, shall be a free agent.

RULE 82 No League member may place another member’s protected player on his current roster without the express permission of that member in the form of a player release.

RULE 83 Any member that insists on keeping another member’s protected player shall be banned from League participation at all age levels.

RULE 84 It shall be the responsibility of each member or his representative to determine the League status of any player during his first encounter with said player (see section 17.2).

Failure to observe a fellow member’s rights to either his restricted or protected players shall be construed as tampering.

RULE 85 Any league member - affiliated in any way with a non-league team that signs a protected player from another ENYTB owner in the current regular season, and that player discontinues his full-time participation in ENYTB play - shall be banned from League participation at all age levels. Exception: ENYTB teams classified as "Elite" (see Rule 91 and Section 16.9 below).

This rule precludes ENYTB members from using another member’s protected player exclusively in another League beyond ENYTB’s jurisdiction, resulting in the player discontinuing his full-time participation in ENYTB play. Precedent established circa 2000.

Section 16.7 Protected Player Exemptions

RULE 86 MINIMUM APPEARANCE EXEMPTION - Any roster player who failed to appear in 3 league games in the prior season is not counted as being on a team’s official league roster. Such players would be classified in the current season as either unrestricted free agents or restricted players, depending on their prior status and current age.

RULE 87 CUT EXEMPTION - Any roster player who was cut in the prior year after playing in 3 or more games is an unrestricted free agent in the current season.

RULE 88 TEAM INACTIVITY EXEMPTION - Any protected player whose primary club from the prior year does not have an active ENYTB team one age class higher in the current year, can change clubs w/o a release in order to play in that higher age class.

RULE 89 HOME AREA EXEMPTION - Any protected player residing in the franchise area of a new member or an existing member that is active in his natural age division for the first time, has the option, prior to the beginning of his team’s current season play, to play for that member without a release. This shall be a one time only option and once a player makes a choice he shall be bound from that day forward by the League’s usual release rules.

RULE 89A - 13 YEAR OLD EXEMPTION (passed Spring, 2005) - Any 13 year old player who played in ENYTB in the prior year is eligible for a non-discretionary release provided:(a) he is electing to play for a franchise or co-franchise member; (b) did not play for a franchise or co-franchise member in the previous year; and,(c) he follows league protocol for obtaining a non-discretionary release i.e., same as a restricted free agent.

RULE 90 PLAYING “UP” EXEMPTION - Any protected player who wants to play in a higher age division for a different club, may do so without a release from his prior club/team provided his new club is a full franchise member and his prior/current club either is not active at that higher age level with ENYTB or is active at that age level within ENYTB but unwilling to place said player on a roster at that age level.

A player may play for only one team in each age division but he may participate on teams in as many different age divisions as he is age eligible for and can find a team to do so with. However, every protected player is designated as "primary" for one and only one club (usually the club that signs him first). A player's primary club has his exclusive rights at all age levels the player is age-eligible for, provided: (i) the primary club has a team active in the age level the player wants to play in; and, (ii) the primary club offers the player a position on its team in that age level. Example 1: Club xyz - is active at 15U and 16U in current year. Player A - is age 15 and is primary to club xyz from prior year. Player A - decides to play at a higher age level (16U) in current year. Player A - tournament qualifying for club xyz if club xyz offers him a roster spot on its 16U team. If club xyz isn't active at 16U or chooses not to offer Player A a roster spot on its 16U team, the player can leave w/o a release to play for another club's 16U team. Player can remain primary with club xyz at 15U and play secondary on 16U team for club abc or, he may play primary on 16U team of club abc and be seconday on the 15U team for any club, including xyz, abc or any other. Example 2: Club xyz was active at 13U-14U-15U-16U last year and this year. Player B is age 14 and is primary to club xyz from the prior year when his primary team was designated as 15U (note: natural age division was 13U). This year player B would prefer to play primary at 14U, his natural age division. Player B - needs a release to play at 14U for any club other than club xyz provided club xyz offers him a roster spot on its 14U team. If club xyz wasn't active at 14U or chose not to offer Player B a roster spot on its 14U team, player B is eligible to play for another club's 14U team w/o a release. Thus, every player has the right to play on a primary basis in his natural age division, including those players that didn't do so in the previous year.

RULE 91 ELITE PROGRAM EXEMPTION - Any protected player over age 15 may join a qualified “elite program” team without a release, subject to the provisos of section 16.9 below.

Section 16.8 Protected Players Of First Year Members

Upon admission to the League, first year members may submit a documented roster(s) from the prior year to establish their protected players from the prior year. The League’s Player Agent shall qualify all protected players of first year members in accordance with the rules of this section.

RULE 92 In the event a new member’s roster includes protected or restricted players of an existing ENYTB member, the existing member’s rights shall supercede those of the first year member.

In such cases new members may request a release for such players.

RULE 93 HOME AREA EXCEPTION - Any protected player residing in the franchise area of a new member has the option, prior to the beginning of his team’s current season play, to play for that new member without a release. This shall be a one time only option and once a player makes a choice he shall be bound from that day forward by the League’s usual release rules.

RULE 94 Similarly, in the event a new member’s roster includes any player who had previously committed to playing in the current season for a team owned by an existing ENYTB member, the player shall be the protected player of the existing member unless the home area exception is applicable.

The official application date for this determination shall be affixed by the league as the date of receipt of the new member’s initiation fee or first year registration fee, whichever is applicable. The existing member shall be required to provide evidence that the player’s commitment preceded that date when necessary. This evidence can be in the form of a written statement by the player or parent or any dated document signed by the player or his parent, indicating the player had accepted an offer to play for that team e.g., a team roster form, a check for registration payment, etc. All disputes in this regard shall be settled by the League Player Agent and his decisions may be appealed to the Player Eligibility Committee.

Section 16.9 Elite Program Status/Exemption

The League recognizes that it would not be in the interests of its best players or the League to attempt to restrain players from participating in elite programs that offer players a higher level of competition on a regular basis than is ordinarily available in ENYTB. To gain elite program status an owner must apply to the league and show evidence that it has teams, aged 16U and/or above, registered and active and in the current season in a recognized elite travel league that offers players a higher level of competition on a regular basis than is ordinarily available in ENYTB.

RULE 95 Any league owner formally designated by the Executive Board as an elite program at any age level shall be exempt from the usual player protections afforded members at those age levels until June 1 each year, provided they abide by the notification timetable listed below.

1. Prior to April 1, there are no restrictions on evaluating or signing any ENYTB protected ENYTB players to such teams.

2. No later than April 1, all elite owners must inform the league administrator of any ENYTB protected players that have accepted roster offers under this exemption.

3. On April 1, all elite owners must inform the league administrator of any ENYTB protected players who are still practicing under the auspices of their program under this exemption but have not been offered an elite roster position or have been offered such a position and have not yet accepted or declined the offer.

4. After April 1, all elite owners must provide immediate and full disclosure to the owner of any new protected player that is being evaluated.

5. On June 1, the elite program exemption for that year expires for the current season. All elite owners must inform the league administrator by June 1 of all ENYTB protected players that have accepted roster offers under this exemption.

Failure by any elite owner to provide timely notice to the league administrator as required above shall constitute tampering and be subject to penalties for tampering as deemed appropriate by the League’s Player Agent.

Section 16.10 Player Releases - General

RULE 96 The rights of any member to his franchise players extend to all affiliations regardless of its team’s sanctioning choices except as provided in section 10.5.

RULE 97 When a player is granted a release, he is an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any ENYTB team.

RULE 98 If the release is granted prior to June 15, and the player appeared in three or fewer league games in the current season, said player shall become eligible to sign with any other team in the League in the current year.

RULE 99 All players legally released on or after June 15, shall be eligible to sign with teams in the current season in other age divisions or registered under different sanctioning bodies only. The latter shall include players on teams disbanded during the season.

Once signed to another League team, said player becomes a protected player of that team owner and is once again subject to the usual release procedure.

RULE 100 Any franchise player may seek a release by submitting a written request to that effect, dated and signed by him and one of his parents/guardians. This written request shall be directed to the player's club/team owner (in the case of protected players) or home area franchise club member(s) (in the case of restricted players) who holds the player’s league rights.

RULE 101 A member shall provide a player with his release by writing RELEASED on said player’s written release request, signing and dating it, and returning it to the player. In addition, the owner shall immediately inform the League Player Agent of the disposition of the release request and designate said player as released on the League website. Beginning 2008, all clubs seeking to sign another club's restricted or protected players shall be required to request the release from that member online, through the website. The automated release system is integrated into the ADD Player function on each team's roster. When a team attempts to add a player to its roster where a release is required, the website will notify the team the player needs a release and will ask the team if it would like to submit a request. If it does, the player will receive an email asking him to confirm the request. Once confirmed by the player, the club(s) holding the player's league rights will be notified of teh request and asked to act on the release by informing the league of its decision within 15 days. Prior to requesting a release, clubs are required to obtain permission from the the club(s) holding the player's league rights BEFORE engaging in ANY discussions with said player about their prospects of being offered a position. The league's "first contact" protocols are detailed in Article XVII.

As defined at the top of this Article and as explained in sections 17.3 and 17.4, ENYTB has two kinds of player restrictions and each has its own kind of release. In either case, once released, the player is an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any club/team of his choice. The two releases differ in applicability as well as in the power of the player to effect the outcome. To repeat:

A discretionary release is a written statement or email, by the player’s team owner or home franchise area owner(s), directed to the League Player Agent or League Office, to the effect that he is voluntarily relinquishing his league rights to a certain franchise player. In order to be eligible for a discretionary release, the franchise player and one of his parents/guardians must provide the team owner (in the case of protected players) or home franchise owner(s) (in the case of restricted players) a written, dated and signed request for a release. Beginning in 2008, the league's release system shall be automated on the website and the player’s team owner or home franchise area owner(s) will be required to respond by email to the league Office.

A non-discretionary release is applicable to restricted players only and may be applied for prior to April 1 each year. It provides the home area franchise owner(s) with a limited opportunity (15 days from the date of the written request) to interest the player in participating in his program. In order to qualify for a non-discretionary release, the player and/or one of his parents/guardians must provide the home franchise owner(s) a written, signed and dated request for such a release as well as a reasonable opportunity to have discussions designed to interest them in his program. Once the 15 day window of opportunity expires, the restricted player shall be granted a release by the League Player Agent and become an unrestricted free agent provided the home franchise area owner(s) has not petitioned the League Player Agent or the League Office to deny the release on the grounds that the player and his family failed to provide him with a sufficient opportunity to explain his program to them. Failure of the home franchise area owner to petition the League Player Agent prior to the conclusion of the 15 day window of opportunity shall result in the issuance of the release by the League. Beginning 2008 this release process shall be automated through the website used by the league.

Section 16.11 Tampering

Tampering is cheating. Active recruiting in a predatory manner is any contact between a League member and another member’s protected or restricted player that ignores the provisions of the League’s first contact protocols as defined in section 17.2 below. The failure to ask sufficient questions to determine whether any such rights exist shall be construed as tampering as well. The failure to notify, in the case of restricted free agents, and the failure to notify and ask permission to recruit in the case of protected players, the club holding the player's league rights before engaging in any recruiting activity with said player shall also be construed as tampering.

Specific actions that constitute tampering include but are not limited to:

· Non-disclosure of first player contact;

· Having contact with a protected player for the purposes of possible recruitment after being denied permission or after the player is denied a release;

· Having a protected player participate in an organized practice or tryout without permission from the team owner holding the league rights to the player would constitute tampering (open tryouts are exempted as provided in section 17.5);

· Having a restricted player participate in an organized practice or tryout without proper notification of the team owner holding the league rights to the player would constitute tampering (open tryouts are exempted as provided in section 17.5).

In the event the League Player Agent decides a player has been tampered with, that player shall be ineligible to play for the offending member in the current season and the offending member shall be subject to progressive fines for each tampering infraction.

The first infraction shall carry no fine. The second infraction shall carry a $50 fine and each infraction thereafter shall double. A team guilty of tampering also can be suspended from League play and made ineligible for any tournament berths awarded as a result of league competition. Members who are chronic offenders of the League’s protocols for player movement or who fail to take appropriate and timely corrective action when the League Player Agent determines that a tampering violation has been committed, may be banned from the league indefinitely, at the discretion of the League Player Agent. In particular, any member who refuses to stop tampering with a certain player, shall be banned from further League participation until the League Player Agent finds that the owner has made proper redress for his infraction. Any member disqualified from league participation for tampering shall be disqualified at all age levels.

Section 16.12 Jurisdiction and Appeal Process

As provided in section 3.2, it shall be the duty of the League Player Agent to ensure that all issues involving player eligibility and the player rights of individual League members are settled in a manner consistent with the rules and procedures prescribed in this document. He shall be responsible for deciding all matters related to a player’s League and team eligibility, including all disputes between and among members regarding their rights to players. The Player Agent also is granted significant discretion in imposing appropriate penalties for significant violations. The Player Agent shall be required to report all his decisions affecting player eligibility immediately to the President and the League Administrator.

Any decision rendered by the Player Agent may be appealed to the League’s standing committee on Player Eligibility. All such appeals must be in writing, citing the section or sections of the Constitution and specific rule where applicable, on which they are basing their appeal. Appeals may be submitted to the President or League Administrator.