Western Lacrosse Association governors voted unanimously to oppose the Canadian association's recent ban on fighting.
On Monday, the Canadian Lacrosse Association and its board of directors announced a change to Rule 45 in the box lacrosse rule and situation hand-book that would levy an automatic game misconduct for any player who engages in a fight.
Subsection (b) adds if there is a clear instigator or aggressor in a fight, the non-offending player shall not receive an automatic ejection from the game.
The ruling change would come into effect for the upcoming 2013 season and affect all levels of lacrosse played in Canada.
A WLA governor, who wished to remain anonymous, said the local senior A league operates outside of CLA guidelines on some rulings. But when WLA teams compete at national championships, they abide by the official handbook.
At the WLA annual general meeting held last Saturday, team governors voted to continue with the existing 2012 fight rules and ignore the CLA edict, said the unnamed governor.
Team officials were asked not to comment on the rule change while the CLA comes up with a response to the action taken by the WLA.
"I'm not happy for the fans, the players, and it's not good for the game," said the governor. "I'm very, very upset the CLA has gone down this road."
In the CLA press release, fighting was described as an uneces-sary risk, citing the potential for severe and long-term injury due to the possibility of concussions.
"The rule change allows our athletes to showcase the sport that we love and keeps the focus on the aspects that make our sport so great - speed, athleticism and skill," said CLA president Joey Harris, in the press release.
