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MADISON, Wis. — The WIAA is launching a new initiative to create a more respectful environment at sporting events.

“Hear It? See It? Report It!” encourages students, coaches, parents, officials and spectators to speak out when they witness inappropriate behavior. After filling out a form on the WIAA website reporting an incident, officials will reach out to the schools to help correct the issue.

“It’s as broad as saying anything that would not be acceptable in a classroom is not acceptable at an athletic event,” said Stephanie Hauser, the Executive Director of the WIAA.

Madison Metropolitan School District Director of Athletics Jeremy Schlitz said he’s glad to see a formalized approach to reporting misconduct.

“This is something that I’ve seen tried to be implemented at the school or our district or conference level, and to see that statewide presence and consistency, I think is great,” Schlitz said.

A fellow athletic director has concerns. Dan Gratz, athletic director for the School District of Beloit, said he’s concerned over what the WIAA considers “unsportsmanlike.”

“I have a hard time seeing them putting issues around race, gender, religion, personal characteristics in that category,” Gratz said. “Those are not sportsmanship issues; those are much larger pieces.”

Gratz adds he would like those issues to have their own focus.

“There needs to be a lot more guidance from the WIAA, and they need to be involved in that, and I frankly don’t think they want to be because those are tough subjects to deal with,” Gratz said.

For now, Hauser said the WIAA wants to get a handle on the number of incidents across the state.

“We absolutely would love to get an idea of how often is this happening,” Hauser said. “Is what we’ve done right now, is that enough? Or when we show the data to our membership, might they say to us we would like to see more done?”

Hauser also welcomes feedback from the WIAA’s member schools.

“I’m a firm believer that how do you know where you need to improve, or what policies and procedures need to improve unless you ask the members who are directly impacted by it,” Hauser said.

The WIAA is rolling out the initiative ahead of larger events like state volleyball and football. Flyers will be sent out to schools featuring a QR code that can be scanned to report concerns.