[Freddy]

Rule 10-1-6 stipulates that having more than 5 players participating simultaneously merits a team technical. The assumption that could be drawn from that is that it is the team's responsibility not to have more than five players on the floor when the ball becomes live.

The Officials' Manual says, "The officials shall count the players prior to putting the ball in play." The assumption that could be drawn from that is that it is the officials' responsibility that neither team have more than five players on the floor when the ball becomes live.

Twice in two weeks, once while observing and once in a game I was officiating, the ball became live -- then a whistle goes off because a sixth player was still on the court, not aware that he had been subbed for. Both times the officials did kind of a "my bad", and did a do-over, citing their responsibility to have the proper number of players on the floor. Each time the coach with the proper number of players griped that the other team should've been given a T, which didn't happen.
OK, so it's the officials' fault; they never should have made the ball live until 5 of each team were on the floor. No wait, they thought there were 5 for each team, but they miscount or whatever and one team gets stuck with six.

QUESTION: "NFHS, which is it gonna be? Is this the team's responsibility or the officials'? Make up your mind!"

Do I have a legitimate gripe? Or am I just suffering mid-winter light depravation?