[Below are the Due Process Procedures as adopted by the OKRVA Board of Directors. Procedures are referenced as Exhibit A of the OKRVA By-Laws. If there are any questions, please contact the Region office.]
The Oklahoma Region Volleyball Association (OKRVA) is a Regional Volleyball Association (RVA) under the umbrella of USA Volleyball (USAV), and every member of USAV and the OKRVA must agree to the Volleyball Participant Code of Conduct. The OKRVA has the authority to impose sanctions and/or penalties, including expulsion, on Members violating OKRVA rules. The Member sanctioned will have due process rights.
Due Process involves the right of the accused to receive clear and timely notification of the accusations against them, to confront his/her accusers, to present his/her side of the story, to receive fair consideration and to have the opportunity to have the decision reconsidered by a separate authority. The Member will have the opportunity to appeal a decision in the event that a sanction or a penalty is imposed.
Section 1: Initial Notice
The initial notice of the accusation may be oral. Regardless of whether oral notification is given, written notice to the accused shall be provided via email or other written means within five (5) days of the alleged rules violation. In the event that a penalty or a sanction is imposed, notice of that penalty or sanction will be provided as soon as possible to the accused. Written notice shall be provided by email to the accused within 10 days of the issuance of the sanction or penalty. It is the Member’s responsibility to keep their USAV registration contact information current. The notice of penalty or sanction will include:
(A) Summary of the incident, including the date, time and location at which the incident allegedly occurred.
(B) Citation of the OKRVA rule that was allegedly violated.
(C) Description of the action or sanction taken.
(D) Statement that the individual has the right to appeal the decision as set forth below.
Section 2: Appeal Process
Members can appeal a penalty or sanction directly to the Regional Commissioner, or to the Review Committee (see Section 3) if the Regional Commissioner issued the penalty or sanction. A Member may initiate an appeal by emailing a Notice of Appeal to the Regional Commissioner and/or one or more Officers of the Board of Directors. The notice of appeal must be emailed within 14 days of the date the notice of penalty or sanction was provided to the Member.
Section 3: Review Committee
A Review Committee will be established by the OKRVA Board of Directors at each Annual Meeting. The ten (10) Review Committee members shall be selected from the Board of Directors. The Review Committee will be listed consecutively in order of service.
(A) Once a timely appeal is made, the first three (3) names on the Review Committee will comprise the Review Panel selected to hear the appeal. If one or more of these members are not able to sit on panel, then the next name on the list will be selected to sit on the panel, and so on and so forth until the Review Panel is comprised of three (3) members of the Review Committee. The Review Panel members will be selected on a rotating basis: For each subsequent valid appeal that is made, the next three (3) Review Committee members on the list will be called to sit on the Review Panel.
Section 4: Review Panel Hearings
(A) If possible, a hearing will be called and the Review Panel will meet in-person no fewer than thirty (30) days before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors.
(B) A reasonable alternative to this meeting would be a video conference.
(C) The Review Panel Hearing will be recorded and a copy of the proceeding will be retained by the OKRVA until all appeal options are expired or exhausted.
(D) At the beginning of the hearing, the Commissioner, or person that issued the penalty or sanction will present the accusation, the OKRVA rule that was allegedly violated, any evidence in support of the accusation’s validity, and the action taken.
(E) The accused will have an opportunity to present a response. The accused will also have the right to cross-examine any witnesses.
(F) The Review Panel has full authority to conduct the hearing and has authority over decisions concerning procedural matters.
Section 5: Review Panel Decisions
(A) The Review Panel has the option to either make a decision after the evidence has been presented at the Review Hearing, or the Review Panel can adjourn and within five (5) days deliver its decision.
(B) Notice of the decision may be given by a phone call, but this must be followed up with an email to the Member’s most recent email address on file with the USAV stating the decision.
(C) Oral and written notice will include reasons for support, revocation or modification of the sanction, and notice that the decision of the Review Panel may be appealed to the Regional Commissioner or to the entire Board of Directors within fourteen (14) days of written notice of the decision.
Section 6: Appeal to the Board of Directors
Appeal to the Board of Directors may be made after completion of the procedures established above for Review Panel Hearings and Review Panel Decisions. Any appeal of the Board of Directors’ decision would go to the parent organization, according to their appellate procedures.
Section 7: Appeal to the Regional Commissioner
Appeal to the Regional Commissioner may be made after completion of the procedures established above for Review Panel Hearings and Review Panel Decisions. Any appeal of Regional Commissioner decisions may be made to the entire Board of Directors if done so in writing and within fourteen (14) days of notice of the Regional Commissioner’s decision provided to the Member.
