Quote:
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A new definition for a “defenseless player” was also added to Rule 2 for risk-minimization purposes. Rule 2-32-16 will read as follows: “A defenseless player is a player who, because of his physical position and focus of concentration, is especially vulnerable to injury.”
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Presumably there's a substantive rule regarding contact with defenseless players.
Does this definition clarify, or muddy the water? For one thing, it would seem that this makes a player who leads with his head down a defenseless player. In general it would seem "especially vulnerable to injury" is a judgment game officials should not have to make. It would've been a bit of an improvement to leave out the words "to injury", though I still don't like it. Just using the term "defenseless player" without a definition, leaving it up to ordinary understanding of the phrase, would probably have been better.