Quote:
Originally posted by Camron Rust
No one said anything about how the towel got there. Perhaps it was dropped there after the ball was live. Has nothing to do with being the official's fault for not clearing it away.
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Sorry, Cam, but we already covered this: see my post 9-2 at 8:06PM, also JR and I have been very clear that the towel or pom-pom was inadvertently left on the boundary line during a TO.
Quote:
Originally posted by Camron Rust
An object that is bridgeing the line has each part the same as the floor below it.
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This statement is totally untrue. Please re-read the rule carefully.
7-1 ...A player is out of bounds when he/she touches the floor, or any object other than a player, on or outside a boundary.
Notice that it quite clearly says ON OR OUTSIDE. This means that just like a player who has one foot inbounds and one foot OOB, an object which is touching both inbounds and OOB is to be considered OOB.
Quote:
Originally posted by Camron Rust
The rule about touching an OOB oject is to prevent a player with the ball who is falling from touching a chair, wall, or some such object to keep their balance.
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Certainly true, but it seems to cover even more because of the specific language used.
Quote:
Originally posted by Camron Rust
To call a violation on a player who steps/touches a foreign object when the action would have normally been within the boundary is not supported by the spirit and intent of the OOB rules.
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This is by far your best argument. I just feel that I loses out to "the letter of the rule."
Quote:
Originally posted by Hawks Coach
It does not exist to cover the towel on the floor situation. However, there is still the case of the unshod player's shoe. . .
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How do you know? I concur that 99% of the time the rule is used to stop a player from touching an object or fan which is completely OOB in a way which would provide that player an advantage, but the wording of the rule is clear and specific enough to cover the wacky situations too. If you go with the plain language of the rule, it covers the towel, pom-pom, and the unshod shoe! Something to think about.