Parents banned from basketball games

Program coordinators with the basketball program run by the Tri-Community YMCA in Southbridge said parents will not be allowed to watch Saturday's games because of frequent incidents involving parents shouting at referees or one another, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.

"This is what we tried to do to let people know this is not appropriate behavior," said Sue Casine, recreation director at the YMCA. "It's just a youth league. It's a youth league for kids to play ball and have fun and learn skills and good sportsmanship, but we were having some trouble with parents in the stands."

Casine said officials were concerned about incidents elsewhere in the country involving parents becoming violent at youth sports events.

"This is not going to happen in this league," she said. "We want to teach them the right way to have fun, the right way to play basketball, and that's how we're handling the situation."

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