[Bob M.]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

Why do you think they made that change? Was it to get rid of a difficult call? It was a rare one. I'm guessing umpires didn't like looking down & deciding whether a player's foot placement was for support (especially in contact with an opponent) or to trip.

However, since that change was made I have been surprised how few players took advantage of it. I expected a lot of feet to be stuck out.

Robert

REPLY: Here's what the Federation said in their Comments on the 1981 Rules Revisions:

"Previously, it was not legal to clip any opponent except the runner or to trip any oppponent. The revision makes it legal to clip or trip the runner, but no other opponent. The committee agreed that if a runner could be blocked or tackled from behind, it should not be illegal to trip him."

Short and sweet.