Certainly not a "Flint issue."
Whereas this new rule (actually an "editorial change") was well published by the Fed and the MHSAA and studied by all officials and officials' associations I'm aware of, I'm at a loss for why you, as a coach, never got word of it.
Isn't there a means of communication whereby coaches are able to keep up with rule changes?
(BTW, I'm not saying I agree with the rule clarification, as subjective as it seems to be
.)
"Bringing out the rulebook", assuming it were an updated 2009/10 edition, would have clarified the point.
Gametime seems to be a challenging time to bring everyone involved up to speed.
Whose issue is this to avoid ahead of time? The coach's? The AD's? A coaches' association you might belong to? I'd hesitate to say it's the officials'.