illegal screen

[Todd VandenAkker]

Originally posted by Alaska Ref
There is no Mention of an "illegal Screen" that i can find in the rule book. I was taught that there is "no such thing as an illegal Screen only the contact that results from that screen."

I have heard coaches and fans screaming "ILLEGAL SCREEN"
"ILLEGAL SCREEN" when there is no such thing and no such
mechanic.

Of course there is such a thing as an illegal screen, and of course it involves contact that is, by definition, illegal. The proper SIGNAL for it is "block," but an illegally or improperly set screen that results in contact is a foul and can justifiably be verbalized as an illegal screen. Obviously we're not going to (purposely) whistle a screen that does NOT result in contact. The Rules Book itself refers to "legal action by a player" (4-39-1) and "legal screening position" (4-39-2, 10-6-3d), so it's not much of a stretch to call an IL-legal screen. The infamous "over-the-back" call, by contrast, is much less precise, does not specifically refer to or distinguish between illegal vs. legal contact, and thus should be avoided. Verbalizing "illegal screen" does not, IMHO, entail those faults and DOES convey a specific illegal action.