Technical Foul Procedure

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

The NBE has a procedure that really defines the "role" of a technical foul in a game. When one is called, the game stops, they take care of the technical, then pick the game up where it was at the time. The theory is that a technical foul is a penalty for something that takes place "outside" the purview of the game so it is treated that way. Whether the penalty should be one shot or two is another subject.

I read a long time ago that this was the thinking behind how their rule came into being. I'm guessing it's been that way pretty much ever since the league started.

And the high school philosophy was completely different. The NFHS rulesmakers changed the penalty to 2 FT's and the ball so that the harsher penalty would act as a deterrence to unsporting acts. The idea was that if you were going to give up 2 free throws and the ball, you might think about it before doing something unsporting. The NCAA softening that penalty lowers that deterrence aspect. Who knows whether the NFHS rulesmakers will change their philosophy to follow too.