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A discussion on this rule happened at our game last night, not by the officials, but by the table personnel.
It's understandable where this rule came from with some announcers thinking they are on the "And1" tour, but the POE seems like "throwing the baby out with the bath water".
Since the actual NFHS rule wording is vague, we now have to rely on the POE description. Going by that they want the announcer to be a "Champion of Character", but essentially restrict them to being a tennis announcer.
The biggest issue with the POE is the fact that nothing can be said with the clock running. It may not happen often, but you can go several game minutes and MANY points with no stoppage. Should the announcer then give a recap (as fast as possible before the ball is returned to play) of "The last 9 baskets were made, in order, by John A., Bill, B, John A., Larry C., George M., etc...."? That just seems asinine and ridiculous. Maybe that's not what NFHS intended, but that's how they worded it. It's one thing to keep things like "Tonight's winning 50/50 number is..." to time outs and stoppages, but to say the 5 second "#23, John A. with the basket" would be so disruptive to the game and need a rule for it is another.
Now most people agree that, unless the announcer really is going overboard, most won't make a big fuss about it. I texted a friend who is a supervising official in PA after the game. He stated the biggest issue is that there is no designated punishment (unless your state organization implements one) outlined by the NFHS. He also stated that you could probably, in six degrees of separation type reasoning, end up giving the announcer (and the home team) a T, it really isn't supported in the rule book. You would have to assert that by breaking rule 1-18 and not complying they are then being "unsportsmanlike" thus breaking another rule, which then allows for the T to be given. The problem interpreting it that way is that it can't always be consistent. If it is a neutral site game, or a holiday tournament game you would end up having to penalize a team who doesn't control that personnel. If a rule can't consistently be applied then the punishment is not appropriate. The best course of action is, if you really want the person to be quiet or gone, is refuse to continue the game until they are removed (similar to a disruptive fan). As Rich1 said, the AD/Game Manager's patience will run out LONG before yours will.
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