Quote:
Originally posted by ljudge
OK, getting technical what if a player loses a mouthpiece and says "ref I need a new mouthpiece" after the RFP has been given? I would expect criticism of not following "common sense" if I made the team take a timeout. But I would technically be following the rules if I made a player to that. Would you agree?
I actually had this very situation come up last year and I simply stopped the game and allowed the player to go over to the sideline and someone threw him another one. I re-chopped and we resumed play. No one questioned it but I probably didn't follow the rules properly.
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REPLY: I don't see anything wrong with taking an official's TO and allowing that. I believe that the intention of prohibiting help from the sideline is meant to keep attendants from entering the field/huddle to help repair equipment that has become illegal through use. Just having sideline personnel throw a new mouthpiece onto the field doesn't really appear to violate that principle. If they weren't prepared to get him a new mouthpiece quickly, I would suggest that they get a replacement in for him and let him address the problem on the sideline while the game continues. I think common sense should prevail. Now...that's my opinion; others may disagree.