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This whole discussion is really the same discussion as the swinging of the elbow (before the recent rule change).
Fighting is a flagrant T. There are no exceptions. The infraction, as has been said, is the "ATTEMPT" to strike, punch, kick, etc. There may or may not be contact. There may or may not be more then 1 player charged with fighting. The T happens the moment the swing is taken, not when(if) it lands.
To call it otherwise penalize the offended team. You force a player who has just taken an uppercut to shoot FTs while their head is still spinning. If there is more than 1 involved, the penalties will largely offset.
After further reading...it does appear that several casebook plays have contradicted this conclusion. However, I can conceive a scenario where there would be live ball contact that would be considered a flagrant personal (live ball) foul that then turned into a fight. You just might have the initial foul that was deemed flagrant but not exactly fighting.
The rules alone are unambiguous. Only the casebook muddies the water. The cases presented are not complete in their description of the events while the rule book unequivically states that fighting is a T and that fighting can occur whether the ball is dead or live.
[Edited by Camron Rust on Jul 29th, 2002 at 01:29 PM]
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