[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

All right you guys, time to get back on track here and discuss disconcerting action.

The committing of acts that are an attempt to cause a free throw shooter is miss his/her free throw attempt has been on the rise over the last couple of years. The most common act occurs in two different ways:

Play (1): B1, who is on the court during the free throw attempt, yells “block out” just as A1 is releasing the ball on a free throw attempt. More often than not the player who yells “block out” is on the free throw lane, but it is not uncommon for a player who is not in one of the free throw lane spaces to also yell it.

Play (2): A member of the Team B's bench personal (Head Coach, Assistant Coach, or Substitute) will yell “block out” just as A1 is releasing the ball on the free throw attempt.

Play (1) is obvious. This is a clear example of disconcerting action. But is Play (2) an example of disconcerting action or an unsportsmanlike technical foul?

To get the discussion rolling I will start out by stating that I believe that Play (2) is an unsportsmanlike technical foul.

I will let the free-for-all get started before I start to defend my position.