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Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee
Use rule 10-4-4 then. They're out of their "bench area" as defined in rule 1-13-3, aren't they? The OP said that they were more than halfway across the court. Same difference.
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Except we're talking about 10-4-4(c), the TO exception.
Ok, I know, we can then get into the area allowed for players during a TO, and we might be able to argue if they were outside that as well. Or we could argue if the players that were already more than halfway across the court might've been the 5 current players coming out of the huddle after the TO. We don't have all the information as to where the players were before this started, or how it actually transpired. But I guess what I'm saying is if we have the situation where the coaches (and officials) are keeping the players out of the stands, and they listen, I don't see a downside to not penalizing them. What if this happened during play, perhaps a dead ball, and you can see the players stand up, but the coaches are telling them to get back? What if a couple of players have one foot in-bounds before they're yanked back? Without having all the appropriate information (and, of course, the tape), I'm not sure calling all those T's makes the game better. Getting the knuckleheads in the stands outta there certainly makes it better. Maybe even make them eat more hot dogs on the way out?...