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Old Tue Nov 30, 2004, 04:15am
Nevadaref Nevadaref is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 15,012
I wasn't a forum member back in June 2002 when that first discussion happened, so I will chime in now with my opinion.

I favor handling this situation exactly the same as the untucked jersey in 3.4.15, if the FTs are for a personal or an intentional foul. If the FTs are for a T, I send the player out and make a substitute shoot.

This is clearly the fairest way of handling the situation. The player who was fouled attempts the personal foul FTs, so rule 8-2 is not broken, nor is there an possibility of the offender's team gaining an advantage by replacing the player with a better FT shooter, and the player who wore the jewelry receives some punishment. Specifically, his team loses a rebounding opportunity and he must leave the game after the attempt.

The spirit and intent of the rules clearly favor this method as they come down on the side of not allowing a team to gain an advantage by doing something against the rules. There are numerous examples of this in the book, plus some recent rule changes are due to this rationale. (Retaining the endline running priviledge after a foul or violation is noteworthy.) 9.2.11 even states this in the comment.

As for the jewelry as a safety issue, I believe that clearing the lane and removing any chance that another player could come into contact with this player and thus be hurt by the jewelry addresses this situation properly.
I see no realistic chance that the player himself will be injured by the jewelry while attempting the merited free throw, and therefore with the lane cleared, the ball to become dead after the attempt, and no one else around, I believe that the jewelry is not a safety hazard on the FT attempt.

The main point is that the NFHS simply doesn't want a player participating in a situation when CONTACT is possible while wearing jewelry. This could lead to an injury to another participant or the player himself. Therefore, the removal of the jewelry-wearing player following the FT attempt prevents this nicely.

A couple of final comments:
1. A time-out would not allow this player to remain in the game after removing the jewelry. That is only for blood or injury situations.

2. No technical foul should be charged, unless there is patent unsporting conduct.

3. As officials our PRIMARY concern is the safety of the participants. No matter what the consequences, if an official makes a decision in order to protect the safety of a player or players that official has done the right thing in my opinion.
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