Double Foul: True or False?

[mbyron]

Well, I appreciate the feedback. The controversy here mirrors my own indecision about whether to call the flagrant T.

I will say that officials in my area are reluctant to call ANY T, much less one that involves paperwork. The varsity guys told me I handled it well, and the coaches didn't complain.

The punch was indeed closed-fist, but "pulled," so it never reached its target -- as if the kid changed his mind immediately. I was also whistling the foul as he was winding up. Still, I understand that his behavior probably warranted a flagrant foul.

The episode took me by surprise, which as Jim Evans always says is the official's worst enemy. I think that I have been too reluctant to deal with aggressiveness, and that prevailing customs here have affected my judgment. At this point, I agree that I should have called a flagrant T, and I'll try to get it in the future.

Nevada: I appreciate very much your vote of confidence in my judgment; however, I think that in this instance I was mistaken. I agree, in principle, that there are borderline cases of aggressive behavior that would not warrant a flagrant foul; on reflection, this was probably not one of them.