Sub wrongly enters court - sort of

[Mark Padgett]

NF rules. A6 is kneeling at the X waiting to sub in at the next dead ball. An errant pass is heading right at him kind of from the baseline side. He jumps directly onto the court to get out of the way. It was the only way he could go to avoid being hit. There was a chair directly behind him and the table on his other side. Do you T him up for an unauthorized entry onto the court?

Yeah - this actually happened this weekend.

[mbyron]

It depends.

First of all, tell him to allow the ball to hit him. That's not illegal, provided he's where he should be.

If he prevents someone from the other team from getting to a live ball, then probably no choice but to T.

If nobody's around and his presence doesn't affect the play, tell him to stay off the court and resume play.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by mbyron

If nobody's around and his presence doesn't affect the play, tell him to stay off the court and resume play.

Sometimes "Common Sense" is our best rulebook. (Apologies to Thomas Paine)

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by mbyron

It depends.

First of all, tell him to allow the ball to hit him. That's not illegal, provided he's where he should be.

Is this a new mechanic? We tell awaiting subs to let the ball hit them?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Is this a new mechanic? We tell awaiting subs to let the ball hit them?

I tell the coaches and captains this at every pregame conference. It's the most important part of the pregame conference, certainly more important than talking about jerseys being tucked in at all times. I believe that it's mandated in several states, and some states even supply officials with cards to read a prepared statement.

[Juulie Downs]

Mark, when you say, "this really happened." do you mean the kid got a T? Or just that he jumped onto the floor? i can't imagine T'ing a kid for this, unless it interfered with play, as others have said.

[bas2456]

I think it's hard to T someone up for what's a natural reaction. I'm sure the kid was thinking he didn't want to interfere with the ball when he's not even in the game.

I think though, that the others are correct, you would T if he interfered, purposefully or not, with an opponent who had a chance at the ball.