Investigators are still working on unraveling the case of the pizza projectile, but it's not too soon to conclude that Concord needs to get serious about controlling parental behavior at youth sporting events.

Capping an embarrassing display of poor sportsmanship, profanity and all-around juvenile behavior at a July 11 Little League All Star game between Concord and Salem, a league board member allegedly hurled a slice of pizza at an umpire. It will take a while for the facts to emerge, but such incidents seem to have become an annual event in Concord. For kids' sake, it's time to put a stop to them.

Pledges, oaths and pep talks have failed to prevent some parents from throwing tantrums at their kids' games. Past offenses have included harassing or threatening rival parents and officials, taunting young players, swearing and charging onto the playing field.

Bad behavior by parents is a national problem, one several organizations have been created to combat. Among them are the National Alliance for Youth Sports and its offshoot, the Parents Association for Youth Sports. The latter association offers a sportsmanship training program for parents, coaches and officials that more than 500 communities have adopted. It includes a video to help parents understand how to make youth sports a positive experience for their children and a code of ethics with guidelines that can be used to hold parents accountable for their actions. The cost of participating in the program, $5 or $6 per family, is minimal.

Some communities have made the program mandatory for every parent whose child plays in youth sports league. Others have asked parents to voluntarily participate, which is where Concord should start.

No program, voluntary or mandatory, will eliminate the problem, which is why the youth leagues and city officials should meet to consider ordinances that would give recreation staff or league officials the authority to tell an unruly fan to leave a game. Referees, umpires and league officials currently have no authority to ban someone from a public park.

Some communities, Glassboro Borough, N.J., for example, have created municipal commissions or boards with the authority to ban a parent, coach, spectator or official from youth sports events for serious violations of city rules.

In Glassboro, a parent who starts a fight or threatens to physically abuse someone can be banned from all youth sporting events in the community for up to a year. The same penalty applies to those who storm onto the field or court to verbally abuse someone or throws something onto a field. Lesser sanctions apply to people found to have verbally abused someone with profane language or gestures or racial, ethnic or sexual slurs. Anyone banned from youth events for a year must also receive anger management counseling before the ban is lifted.

The problem is usually caused by a small number of people. But among them, in every community, are upstanding citizens who are kind, considerate and rationale - until, that is, the ump makes a close call that goes against their kid.

On days when the sun is shining and parents on both sides cheer a good play no matter which team makes it, mandatory programs for parents and attendance bans seem extreme. But though the cast of parents, players and officials changes every few years, the problem remains, and it's getting worse. It's time for the city and the heads of its youth sports leagues to meet and consider a tougher approach.