squeaking shoes during free throws

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by lawref
On Friday nite, I had a coach going ballistic because the opposing team's players, situated behind the 3-point arc when his player was at the charity stripe, were squeaking their shoes on the ground during the FT attempt. I told the coach there was nothing wrong with that, as the gym was noisy already and the players were not in lane spaces attempting to disconcert the thrower. Was I right?

It's a straight judgement call on your part. If you thought that the act was disconcerting to the FT shooter, then call it. If you judge that it's not disconcerting to the FT shooter, then ignore it. Or maybe warn, if you think that it's getting close. It's a "have to be there- make up your own mind" call.

Btw, it doesn't matter whether the disconcerting act came from someone on a lane space or not. It can come from an opponent anywhere- even from their bench.