Free throw Situation

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

If the shooter was distracted then I don't see the problem with administering another FT, as the cheerleaders were on the court.

I do. That is incorrect and has no rules support.
Cheerleaders and mascots are not opponents and cannot be charged with distraction. Also, they are not permitted to be on the court (inbounds) other than during a full time-out or intermission.

Since there is no time on the clock, it is reasonable to believe that the cheerleaders would think that the quarter was over and that this was an intermission and take the court. In such a case, the administering official noticed them on the floor prior to administering the FT and have them removed without penalty. However, the OP writes that they ran out onto the court after the player had the ball, hence there is there only one remedy—a technical foul.

This situation is similar to a spectator throwing something onto the court during a FT attempt. We cannot simply give a replacement throw because the offender doesn’t fall within the required category of an opponent. We must charge a technical foul. That has clear rules support and is the correct call.

[Nevadaref]

Another point to mention: once the second FT attempt occurs, it is too late to go back and penalize for something which happened during the first attempt. The game has moved on.