Assault With The Ball

[wolfen]

Endline Throw in-GJV Team A running of time so A1 throws the ball pretty hard at B1-hits her knee and goes OOB. My question Is there any level of force in this sitch that justifys a foul ? i called OOB on B but was a little uncomfortable with A throwing the ball at B like that . At the extreme could A throw the ball and hit B in the face-doesn't seem right to me .... Thanks for input.

[Robmoz]

As an official, you always have the ability to judge something as an unsporting act and assess the appropriate penalty. In your extreme example, A1 could be DQ'd for her action if you deem it to be flagarant.

You are the judge and the jury on the floor but take your responsibilities seriously.

[ChuckElias]

Strictly judgment on your part. If you feel that A1 was merely trying to save the ball in the only way that she could, then you have nothing.

If you feel that A1 was intentionally trying to hit B1 in a sensitive area, or that A1 used the situation as an excuse to intentionally take a free shot at B1, then you could call the act unsportsmanlike.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by wolfen
Endline Throw in-GJV Team A running of time so A1 throws the ball pretty hard at B1-hits her knee and goes OOB. My question Is there any level of force in this sitch that justifys a foul ? i called OOB on B but was a little uncomfortable with A throwing the ball at B like that . At the extreme could A throw the ball and hit B in the face-doesn't seem right to me .... Thanks for input.

When it's clear that A1 was just trying to buy herself another 5 seconds, it's oob off B, as you did. A1 can accomplish a fair amount of damage unintentionally, and still have a no-call. But if it's VERY clear that A1 is trying to deliberately do harm, you could conceivably call a flagrant personal foul, as though it was the beginning of a fight. In your situation, if A1 had thrown the ball in B1's face, I'd lean pretty far toward the flagrant. The goal of buying an oob off B is much more easily achieved off the foot or leg. Throwing the ball off the face seems pretty hostile. When the ball is in play on the floor, and an A player causes contact between the ball and a defender but there's no body contact, you can't call any foul except a technical, which could be flagrant if you chose. It can't be a personal foul since there's no contact. You could justify a technical if there's clearly an unsportsmanlike aspect to the play. It would be a tough sell, I think, but it's there if worse comes to worst.

[Jurassic Referee]

NFHS case book play 10.3.7SitB gives you some guidance on how to call this type of play.