I am not a BB official but I was wondering if he could have been given a double technical and ejected from the game for that "intentional payback" elbow he gave. I think he ended up getting a two game suspension for it anyways. Would/Should the refs have ejected him from the game immediately?

If we are talking about the same incident i would say yes. But a double tec no. I'd give him a flagrent and get him outta their that way. we as officials have to worry about whats going on on the court, and let the league worry about suspensions and crap like that.

They could have ejected him, if they saw fit to do so. I didn't see the game (in fact, I didn't even see the foul until SportsCenter this morning), so I don't know what the call was on the court.

However, if the officials had decided to eject Kobe, they had a couple of options. They could have called it a Flagrant Foul (Level 2) or they could have called it an elbow foul (which is an unsportsmanlike foul). If they had called it an elbow foul, then it would have been an automatic ejection b/c the elbow made contact above the shoulders.

They could not, however, have given a "double technical". (Double fouls occur when opponents foul each other.) The term for what you probably meant is "flagrant technical foul". But they couldn't have assessed a flagrant technical either b/c the foul involved contact during a live ball. So a technical doesn't fit the situation.

So, yes, they could've ejected him and had a couple different justifications for doing so if they deemed it appropriate. I can't say if they should have, b/c I wasn't on the court. Ronnie Nunn will probably make the decision on whether the officials should've ejected him.

But I think I can say that if that happened in my high school game (intentional forearm to the neck), I would disqualify the offender.

BTW, all the terminology that I've used here (Flagrant, Level 2, "elbow foul", unsportsmanlike) all have unique meanings in the NBA ruleset. So don't try to use them when talking about NCAA or HS games. Some of them don't exist in HS/NCAA and others have different meanings.

Hope that helps.

Yes, he should have been ejected.

well said ChuckElias. Are their diffrent levels of flagrents in highschool, and also does the elbow above the neck rule apply to HS and if so could someone explain that for me.
thank you

No. Those are NBA rules.

He should have been ejected.

Did anyone see the foul that Kobe claims the refs missed? This foul had Kobe fouled (quite hard as he claims) by the guy that he fouled.

Exactly what Chuck said.

No fonzzy. In HS there is just an intentional foul and a flagrant foul. In the NBA there is just flagrant fouls(penalty 1 and penalty 2).

Penalty 1 is unecessary contact against an opponent and a
Penalty 2 is unecessary and excessive contact against an opponent. Unlike Penalty 1(which is almost exactly like an intentional foul in HS) Penalty 2 results in an automatic ejection.

As far as question about elbow fouls, no it is not a type of foul in HS, it is only an NBA type foul. The rule in the NBA for the elbow foul is if it is above the shoulder it is an automatic ejection, if it is at or below the shoulder level it will be left to the discretion of the officials to decide to eject the offender or not.

I didn't get to see the game that the elbow happened in, I just saw the highlight. The hit was right at shoulder level so it was up to the officials to decide whether to eject him or not. I heard that there was a pretty good hit that Kobe had taken earlier in the game and if that was the case I probably would have tossed him, but not knowing the flow and all other variables involved I will not judge the actions of the officials involved.

The clip I saw showed pretty clearly that the elbow came up into the neck.

Agreed. The elbow didn't nail him in the shoulders.

I agree it happened at shoulder level and went to the chin but it originated AT shoulder level or below.

It makes no difference where it "originated." An elbow foul which makes contact above shoulder level results in an ejection. NBA Rule 12, Section 5 l.(3)

Guys,
Again, I don't want to argue with basketball referees because I've never officiated a basketball game. However, I can see and it is clear as day that he deliberately elbowed the guy (in a retaliation manner) in the throat and chin area.

Does this act qualify for an immediate ejection in the NBA?

Maybe because it was Kobe, the star people pay to see, they decided to keep him in the game. Perhaps that's the reason for NOT ejecting him.

I quoted the rule in my previous post.