Being "In the Know"

[ChuckElias]

Originally posted by Nevadaref

What year did this change? I have rules books back to the 2001-02 season and the wording of 9-2-11 is exactly the same as it is in 2005-06 book.

You know what? I said that wrong. I think that the rule change/clarification was that you couldn't touch the ball until it had been released on the throw-in.

We had long arguments about this rule a couple years ago. The rule about breaking the plane was very clear. You couldn't break the plane until the throw-in was released. You're right, that's been the rule forever. But the rule about touching the ball was murkier. It never said that touching the ball was ok after the release. I took this to mean that you could break the plane after the throw-in was released -- say your momentum had you jumping forward -- but that it was still a T to actually touch the ball on the OOB side of the plane.

Other people thought that all the restrictions regarding the OOB plane ended when the throw-in was released.

In any case, in the '02-'03 rulebook, 9-2, PENALTY(3) says it's a T if an opponent reaches through the plane and touches or dislodges the ball. But in the '03-'04 book 9-2, PENALTY(3) says it's a T to reach through the plane and touch or dislodge the ball "while in possession of the thrower or being passed to a teammate outside the boundary line".

This unannounced change put an end to that argument. It is now a T only if the ball is touched before it's released on the throw-in pass.