Quote:
Originally posted by Richard Ogg
Chuck, congrats. I'd like for you to elaborate on the no-elbow-fouls comment. Why do they avoid those? How do they handle it?
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They try to avoid the elbow foul, for the same reason we tend to avoid the multiple foul: the penalty is unusual, it invariably requires an explanation, and you can accomplish the same thing by calling something else.
I'm sure Drake, Eli or crew will correct me if I'm wrong, but here goes:
In the NBA, they have a flagrant foul (type 1), a flagrant foul (type 2), or an elbow foul.
Flagrant 1 results in 2 free throws plus possession of the ball to the offended team. This is not an unsportsmanlike foul, but 2 Flagrant 1 fouls result in ejection. This is pretty close to an intentional personal foul for excessive contact in high school.
Flagrant 2 results in 2 free throws plus possession of the ball to the offended team. This results in ejection for the offender. This is pretty close to a flagrant personal foul in high school.
An elbow foul results in 2 free throws (but NOT possession of the ball) to the offended team. An elbow foul is considered an unsportsmanlike foul. If the elbow contacts the opponent above the shoulder, the offender MUST be ejected. If the contact is shoulder-level or below, the offender may be ejected at the official's discretion.
Ok, so say a guy throws an elbow into the opponent's chest and the opponent goes down. You can't really just call this a personal foul, b/c of the hard contact. The problem with the elbow foul is that it's unsportsmanlike, which means that if the guy already has one unsportsmanlike T, he must be ejected. If you feel that he doesn't really deserve to be ejected for the elbow, then you will most likely just call the Flagrant 1. It's a slightly more severe penalty (includes possession of the ball), but the guy gets to stay in the game.
On the other hand, if the game is starting to get away from you and you want to send a message, you can use the elbow foul. This way, the guy has to stay on his best behavior from now on.
I guess most officials would rather not assess a foul that counts toward a player's personal
and his unsportsmanlike limit; so normally, they would choose to call it a flagrant.
Does that help?
Chuck