Identical Numbers ???

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by WhistlesAndStripes

The first caseplay you cited does seem to give conflicting points though. Situation A seems to say that the technical foul can be avoided if the team member with an identical number never enters the game. However, Situation B seems to indicate that if you discover team members on the bench with identical numbers, a technical foul should be assessed.

That isn't what I read from situation A. I read it to say that B1 can change to any jersey that will allow B1 to continue. However, if B1 changes to a spare jersey with a number matching someone else already on the team, that creates an illegal situation. It doesn't say so, but the spirit of the comments in that rule suggest the other person must also change to a new number to avoid having duplicates...but that change will be free of penalty.