In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, or disqualification) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending upon the sport, but common causes for ejection include unsportsmanlike conduct, violent acts against another participant that are beyond the sport's generally accepted standards for such acts, abuse against officials, violations of the sport's rules that the contest official deems to be egregious, or the use of an illegal substance to better a player's game. Most sports have provisions that allow players to be ejected, and many allow for the ejection of coaches, managers, or other non-playing personnel.
The decision to eject a participant usually lies with one or more officials present at the contest (e.g., referees or umpires). In addition to removal from the contest, many sports leagues provide additional sanctions against participants who have been ejected, such as monetary fines or suspensions from future contests.
When the offender is ejected, he/she must leave the immediate playing area; in most cases, this means going to the locker room or other part of the venue out of sight of the playing area, or in extreme cases, leaving the facility grounds. In many youth sports leagues, ejected players are required to stay with their coach in the team area, or at least be supervised by an adult at whatever location the player is required to go. If a participant refuses to cooperate with an ejection, additional sanctions may be levied, such as forfeiture of the contest, monetary fines, or suspensions.
In NBA and most other basketball games, a player or coach is ejected from the game if he accumulates two technical fouls of an unsportsmanlike nature over the course of the game. Participants who commit fouls of violence or enter the stands are ejected summarily regardless of the number of technical fouls accumulated. Ejected players/coaches must leave the court area for the remainder of play, and must do so immediately, or else risk even heavier fines/suspensions. In the NBA, an ejection will result in, at minimum, a $1,000 fine; an ejection for leaving the bench during a fight carries at least a one-game suspension as well. In domestic games, refusing to leave after being ejected can result in a player being put on report. If being put on report does not provide enough encouragement for a player to leave the court, the official may , regardless of score. Players who incur 16 technical fouls in a single NBA season are automatically suspended for one game; an additional suspension is imposed for each increment of two thereafter. Should a player receive the 16th technical foul in the last regular-season game, he will be suspended for the first game in the next season, unless if his team is in the playoffs, when he will be suspended for the first playoff game. In the playoffs, players are suspended if they receive seven technical fouls.