Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyMac
Agree.
Agree.
However, not necessarily in this case (common basketball sense applies here, how can a team gain an advantage by doing this), but in similar sentence (maybe not specifically related to basketball), that may not be so easily understood using common sense. I'm sure that speaking in a particular manner (with pregnant pauses), can make it seem that the introductory statement "attempting to gain an advantage by interfering with the ball after a goal or by failing to immediately pass the ball to the nearest official after a whistle is blown.", can make it appear that "attempting to gain an advantage" applies to both clauses; "interfering with the ball after a goal" as well as "failing to immediately pass the ball to the nearest official".
My high school English teacher, Mr. Baumgartner, would be very disappointed that I can't explain this better. Maybe something to do with compound sentences and independent (or dependent) clauses?
However, to basketball officials, how it's currently written is probably just fine.
I (a high school official) believe that I know the purpose and intent of the rule and what the rule means, just not sure that it would hold up in a court of law with non-basketball-official attorneys, judges, and jurors parsing words in this somewhat complex compound sentence.
Here's another complex compound sentence high school rule that can leave some officials confused by independent clauses with the word "or":
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All I am saying is the action that was penalized has nothing to do with an advantage. These are two different kinds of violations considered into one delay. I am talking about this because folks are focused on one part of the rule and not the other. There was no advantage to throwing the ball away, it was disrespectful. And I have given a T to players for doing stuff like this in high school games. Not common because I make a habit of not chasing any basketball even if it is close and behind me. So I tend to not have to deal with that kind of situation.
I also tend to be very direct with players when they do disrespectful stuff, especially if it is not obvious to everyone. Players tend to get the message or they fall in line. I have even had players apologize for their behavior as well. But again what Clark did was a reaction to a foul she did not like. The official was not having it and T'd her up. They did not care who she was. Good for that official.
Peace