Unsporting Foul

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by Da Official

Reason I ask is I called a few of these in Adult Rec games and the players act like I've just made up the rule out of thin air. LOL!

I tell the player when you defend a shot and put your hands straight up you're fine, but when you intentionally extend your arms 45 degrees and delibertly attempt to cover the shooters eyes it is an Unsporting Foul.

To be honest when I first started calling these I reported it as a foul...now I give em' the "T".

If you called a "few" of these, and there have been others that you didn't call, it's likely that you're "over applying" the rule. That is, what you are seeing isn't really a technical foul.

[TheOracle]

KB, how about a quick whistle, stop the inbounds play, say "Hey, get your hands away from his face!", and start again. I bet that would solve the problem for the game and be a very easy, non-controversial fix.

[kbilla]

Originally Posted by TheOracle

KB, how about a quick whistle, stop the inbounds play, say "Hey, get your hands away from his face!", and start again. I bet that would solve the problem for the game and be a very easy, non-controversial fix.

Absolutely could have done that, I actually questioned myself on that when I I posted this last week. In that situation, the game was getting extremely heated and they had been double and triple teaming this kid all over the floor (he was by far their best player). On top of that the coach for the defensive team was screaming "GET IN HIS FACE"....now I will grant you that as we have seen in numerous posts/threads today and yesterday, none of what they had been doing to this point was a foul, but in my judgement when I added all of that up, considered the direction the game was going, and in an attempt to get things under control, once they did something that WAS a tech (and blatant), I went right with it rather than the warning...this was the first time in 18 or so years that I have ever called one, only SEEN it called one other time...the call itself turned out to be very non-controversial, the coach asked what his kid did, I went over and explained it and that was that, no further questions..

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Da Official

Also, what is "face guarding" other than attempting to obstruct the vision of the opponent?

The face-guarding rule was changed in 2004-05 to include players with the ball. Previously, it only applied to players without the ball.

From the POE that year: "The committee does not intend for good defense to be penalized. Challenging a shooter with a "hand in the face" or fronting a post player with a hand in the air to prevent a post pass are examples of acceptable actions. The rule and point of emphasis is designed to penalize actions that are clearly not related to playing the game of basketball properly and that intentionally restrict vision. Often, that occurs off the ball or as players are moving up the court in transition."

Iow, it is perfectly legal to put a hand in a shooter's face. There are no restrictions about having an arm straight up or at a 45-degree angle. It's strictly a judgment call, and imo it's good judgment to keep away from making this call on a shooter. Mileage may vary.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by TD21

Nobody calls it becuase it rarely if ever happens. What you are describing is a defensive player closing out and contesting a shot. The rule you are misapplying is made to prevent a playing from continuously restricting another players vision. You can contest a shot by putting your hand up. You can not stand next to a player and continually wave you hand in their face so they can't see what is going on around them. This rule, much like a few others, would have to be a pretty excessive act in order to be called.

Bingo!!

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

The NF made it clear this rule was to prevent poking someone in the face, not normal defending of a play by putting their arms up. The rule was not put in place to prevent defending a shot or a pass which requires waving of arms in many cases.

For one I almost never see a player but there hand that close to someone's face without fouling them. And unsporting fouls are for non-contact situations, not ones that involve contact. Do not be a maverick because you read a rule.

Bingo!!

[swkansasref33]

so, what do you call it? you said that you used to just call it a foul, and I am curious as to what call you used, and the signal.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by swkansasref33

so, what do you call it? you said that you used to just call it a foul, and I am curious as to what call you used, and the signal.

Faceguarding has always been a technical foul.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Faceguarding has always been a technical foul.

It has against the player without the ball, however, it was only recently changed to include the player with the ball.

[Da Official]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

The face-guarding rule was changed in 2004-05 to include players with the ball. Previously, it only applied to players without the ball.

From the POE that year: "The committee does not intend for good defense to be penalized. Challenging a shooter with a "hand in the face" or fronting a post player with a hand in the air to prevent a post pass are examples of acceptable actions. The rule and point of emphasis is designed to penalize actions that are clearly not related to playing the game of basketball properly and that intentionally restrict vision. Often, that occurs off the ball or as players are moving up the court in transition."

Iow, it is perfectly legal to put a hand in a shooter's face. There are no restrictions about having an arm straight up or at a 45-degree angle.

Thanks for the discussion and the supported documentation! It makes more sense to me now.

A wise man loves knowledge and discipline...