what is the official ruling

[Adam]

Originally Posted by just another ref

If the defender uses the contact of the hand to measure the opponent, (yes, this is a theory, but one that I think has merit) and this contact, which is illegal according to 10-6-2, allows the defender to more easily maintain his defensive position, this could easily be considered a hindrance, could it not?

No (I realize I'm disagreeing with Rut here, but he won't care.)

Hindering the opponent is not the same thing as creating an advantage. The rule says just that, "hinders an opponent...." It doesn't say "or which creates an advantage for the player responsible for contact."

Personally, I don't buy the "measure up" theory anyway, but I still don't see how mere contact can be considered to hinder an opponent because it helps the initiator. If the opponent can still participate in normal defensive and offensive movements, it's incidental contact.