Quote:
Originally Posted by JRutledge
Nope, fumbles are accidental losses of the ball.
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Usually, but not necessarily. If you look at the definition of "fumble" in the major codes, it's by exclusion. It's a catchall for loss of possession not produced by the other named means.
Here's a deliberate act of loss of player possession that AFAICT would be ruled a fumble: a "leave pass". The ballcarrier would place the ball on the ground & run away from it for a teammate to pick up. I even thought of a scenario where such a pass would make sense. In a general sports sense it's a type of pass, but in the football rule book sense it would not satisfy the definition of "pass".
Also, IIRC, a player who deliberately drops the ball for a punt or drop kick & is prevented from kicking the ball (or simply misses it) is ruled to have fumbled.
However, I can't think of a case complementary to that: accidental loss of ball that would
not be ruled a fumble. So if possession is lost accidentally, it's a fumble, but if a fumble occurs, you can't be absolutely sure it must've happened by accidental means.