After discussion with the player, the coach informed me that for modesty reasons, the player was uncomfortable in playing without the t-shirt. I observed the violation during pre-game and alerted the coach to have his player change or remove the t-shirt. In a recent game, a player was wearing a white t-shirt under a blue jersey. By rule, t-shirts, if worn under the jersey, must be same color as the jersey. Illegal t-shirts are another issue that often arises. Not only did the home team's carelessness in roster adminstration cost them points, it took valuable time and mometum away from the game itself. The opposing team was awarded four free-throws (two for the shooting foul, two for the technical) plus possession again after the technical. The correction cost the home team a technical foul. For some reason, she had input player numbers from a game where players wore different jerseys. In a game in which I was the lead official and reviewed the team rosters for headcount and legal numbers before the game, they all looked in order it was only when a shooting foul was called soon after the game began that the scorekeeper realized that the roster of the entire home team had been entered incorrectly. Technical fouls like this one are preventable but can be costly. I am not sure if I would do this again, by the way, for if there is a way to avoid a technical and maintain game integrity with both teams, I would do so. We needed to make a decision, and we opted to charge technical. But given that the situation was flagged and both coaches were aware of it, a failure to enforce the rules in an even-handed (pardon the pun) fashion would the officiating crew in an untenable position: the other coach might expect the crew to ignore the enforcement of a rule for his or her side as well. Some of you might ask why? Why couldnt we simply allow the player to continue playing? The answer is, of course, that we could have. In this case, the officiating crew shoulder some of the blame for not spotting the infraction earlier, but an oversight isn't a good enough reason to overlook the infraction. Had the illegal number been flagged by the official during pre-game review, the coach would have had the opportunity to change the jersey to a legal one. Since the game had already begun with the player wearing the illegal jersey, a technical foul was charged to his team. In the second quarter, a foul was called on Number 6 and it was only then that we realized the player had an illegal number, which falls under the definition of an illegal uniform. Accurate assignment of points and fouls is important to the players and coaches and serves everyone's interests. Why? Well, for one reason, it is easier for the scorekeeper to see and understand numbers on a single hand and document the number correctly on the scoresheet. Thus, the numbers 6, 7,8, 9 are not legal. Legal numbers are defined in the National Federation of High School Associations ( NFHS) rule book as those that official can report using one hand. In a recent game, the official neglected to flag the illegal number "6" on the visiting teams roster. If the violations are not discovered until after the game begins, technical fouls may result.Īs simple as this may sound, technical infractions of team uniform rules occur in virtually every game I have officiated. When the officials observe players and review the rosters during pre-game warm ups, we are looking for potential infractions so we can alert the coach to take corrective action. Uniforms include headband, wristband, compression arm and leg sleeves as well as player numbers. In the case of uniforms, the rules are crystal clear regarding permissable colors, number and team dimensions and locations of logos. Technical fouls for other than unsporting conduct include but are not limited to illegal uniforms, roster submission and changes and coaching and player entry/exit procedures. This article attempts to highlight technical fouls and clear up some misconceptions regarding this important rule and tool. Understanding technical fouls and using them to effectively manage the game, coaches and players is an ongoing learning experience for all officials. While technical fouls, or "technicals," are most often associated with penalizing unsporting behavior, they cover much, much more they also cover violations of important procedural and administrative rules, enforcing compliance with those elements that form the foundation of basketball game management. Technical fouls are a necessary and misunderstood part of the game of basketball.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |