Mouthguard

[SWMOzebra]

Originally Posted by jeffpea

do you know what the rationale is for this rule?

Just guessing on this, of course:

Player removes mouthpiece = nasty, germ-filled saliva on player's hands = germs transferred to basketball = everyone handling the ball comes down with mysterious illness (including the totally innocent officials)

Reason for rule: Leave the darn thing in so your germs aren't spread all over the gym or get a time-out charged each time you remove it. After the coach loses a TO or two, I'm thinking the player and his germs will be sitting on the bench until he learns to leave the mouthpiece in his mouth where it actually belongs.