US Lacrosse considers player safety to be among its highest priorities and takes seriously the responsibility to help protect athletes from abuse within the sports environment.

It was that commitment that motivated the sport’s the national governing body for lacrosse to implement mandatory background screenings as a proactive approach to keeping predatory behavior out of lacrosse.

Effective October 15, 2018, the national background screening becomes part of all adult coach membership purchases and renewals. US Lacrosse is absorbing the cost of the background check, yielding no changes to the direct cost of membership for coaches. Coaches who are members prior to October 15 will NOT be prompted for the background check until their annual renewal occurs.

A coach who fails to initiate the national background screening within 10 days of joining the organization will have their membership changed to suspended status, will not have the insurance coverage benefit, and is restricted from coaching.

US Lacrosse has partnered with NCSI (National Center for Safety Initiatives), an industry leader, for the background screenings.

“We have a duty to lead on this critically important issue,” said Steve Stenersen, president and CEO at US Lacrosse. “We’re committed to doing what is needed to protect our kids and to make our sport safer. There’s no room for predators in lacrosse.”

The mandatory national background screening is just one element of US Lacrosse’s commitment to athlete safety. Launched 2013, the US Lacrosse SafeSport initiative is designed to provide safeguards against all forms of physical and sexual abuse or misconduct.

US Lacrosse is currently collaborating with the U.S. Center for SafeSport to develop an online training course to further train and educate lacrosse stakeholders. Once completed, the online training will also become a mandatory requirement for US Lacrosse adult coach membership.