Not Beckoned Technical Foul ???

[BillyMac]

IAABO (not the NFHS) came out with an interesting ruling on a recent "Make The Call" play:

When bench personnel (head coach, assistant coach, trainer, etc) enter the court without being beckoned to attend to an injured player, it will lead to the injured player needing to be replaced by a substitute.

The head coach may request a 30-second or 60-second time-out to attempt to keep the injured player in the game. If the situation can be resolved by the conclusion of the time-out, the player may continue.

Should a technical foul be ruled?

Several respondents indicated they would rule a technical foul in this situation which does have rules support. The NFHS rules book states Bench personnel, including the head coach, shall not enter the court unless by permission of an official to attend an injured player (NFHS 10-5-2).

However, there is an interpretation in the NFHS Casebook that implies that when bench personnel run onto the floor without being beckoned, the officials have rules support to merely direct the injured player to the bench.

A1 appears to be injured and an official properly halts play and the Team A coach rushes onto the court to check A1. However, A1 is OK and seems ready to play within a few seconds. RULING: A1 must be removed as the coach came onto the court. A1 may remain in the game if the coach does not come on the court and A1 is ready to play immediately. If the coach or other bench personnel have come onto the court, the player must be replaced (NFHS 3.3.6 Situation B).

3.3.6 SITUATION B: A1 appears to be injured and an official properly halts play and the Team A coach rushes onto the court to check A1. However, A1 is OK and seems ready to play within a few seconds. RULING: A1 must be removed as the coach came onto the court. A1 may remain in the game if the coach does not come on the court and A1 is ready to play immediately. If the coach or other bench personnel have come onto the court, the player must be replaced. There is no set amount of time as to what is “immediately,” but it should not involve more than a few seconds and it must be without the coach, athletic trainer or doctor being beckoned and/or entering the court. The coach may also request a time-out to keep the player in the game provided the replacement interval for the substitution has not begun. (10-4-2)

Based on this casebook play, we would not advocate for officials to issue a technical foul in this situation.

The NFHS may want to consider changing the wording in the rule to match the interpretation. We will raise this issue and see if it can be addressed in the future.

It should be noted, that the NFHS has approved a rules change for the 2024-25 season that impacts injury situations when an official beckons bench personnel onto the court to attend to an injured player.

A player who has been injured to the extent that the coach or any other bench personnel is beckoned OR comes onto the court shall be directed to leave the game, unless a time-out is requested by, and granted to, the injured player’s team and the situation can be corrected by the end of the time-out. This returns the rule to where an official "beckoning" a head coach or bench personnel to come onto the court will require the injured player be replaced with a substitute (NFHS 3-3-6).

The key phrase here is bench personnel is "beckoned OR comes onto the court."

This change means that once an official beckons bench personnel, the injured player will need to have a substitute unless the head coach decides to take a time-out to keep the player in the game.

In prior years this word was "and," which implied that if the head coach did not enter the court, no substitute would be required.

This year the committee addressed this situation to make it clear that an official beckoning will trigger the need for a substitute.