When a dude from Federal Way (me) thinks about New Jersey, one of the first things that pops into my head is people yelling at each other.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad, let alone true. But that’s what New Jersey means to me — people with short fuses who aren’t afraid to get in your face and tell you what they think.

So, when I read that the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), the governing body of high school sports in the state, banned trash talking at their events, it caught me a little off-guard.

Eliminating trash talking in sports? Is nothing sacred anymore? Trash talking and sports go together like peanut butter and jelly or beer and everything. It’s part of the game, just ask the greatest trash-talker of all-time, Muhammad Ali.

Under the new NJSIAA sportsmanship rules, any student-athlete or coach who is cited before, during or after an interscholastic event for unsportsmanlike and flagrant verbal or physical misconduct will be disqualified from participating in the next two regularly scheduled events, or in the case of football, disqualified from the next game. Discriminatory conduct will also be reported to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and may result in further investigation. The new policy goes into effect this fall.

This is just another example of the wussification of America. The idea of eliminating trash talk from high school sports is a good one, but an impossible dream. Trash talking goes back to the first time any sport was invented, and the most popular professional sport in the United States actually uses it to sell its product.

The National Football League is built on trash talking, which is celebrated by everybody involved with the NFL. Just watch a highlight video of guys like Ray Lewis, Lawrence Taylor, or “mild-mannered” quarterbacks like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. And remember, these are highlight videos produced and distributed by the NFL.

As a parent of kids who play sports, there is nothing more important to me than protecting them from all the bad stuff that goes on in the world.

But, at some point, I know that I’m not going to be able to shelter them from everything. It would be an injustice for me to not allow them to experience the good and the bad in sports – as well as life.

There is going to be a point in their sporting careers that someone is going to call them a name or make fun of them for something they did. In short, they will be the victim of trash talking.

I just hope that they don’t cower and disconnect. I’m hoping that they’ve learned enough from me, and others, to have enough confidence to not let the trash talk bother them. I hope the words motivate them to play harder and better than they ever have.

Take it from me, the quickest way to shut down a so-called “trash talker” is to play the game better than they are playing it. It’s the old sports saying, “let your play do the talking.”

In New Jersey, student-athletes would get in trouble if they make harassing statements related to gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religion. Referees would also be required to report incidents for possible further investigation.

Steven Timko, executive director of the agency, said in a statement that obscene gestures, profanity or “unduly provocative language or action toward officials, opponents or spectators” won’t be tolerated.

Remember this kids: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Those words can also be used as a motivating tool.