Fighting ???

[Camron Rust]

There is ambiguity in the rule....

4-18 FIGHTING
Fighting is a flagrant act and can occur when the ball is dead or live. Fighting includes, but is not limited to combative acts such as:
ART. 1 . . . An attempt to strike, punch or kick by using a fist, hands, arms, legs or feet regardless of whether contact is made.
ART. 2 . . . An attempt to instigate a fight by committing an unsporting act that causes a person to retaliate by fighting.

10-3 PLAYER TECHNICAL
A player shall not:
ART. 8 . . . Be charged with fighting.

Those words are pretty clear and direct.


While, elsewhere, it says...

4-19 FOUL
ART. 4 . . . A flagrant foul may be a personal or technical foul of a violent or savage nature, or a technical noncontact foul which displays unacceptable conduct. It may or may not be intentional. If personal, it involves, but is not limited to violent contact such as: striking, kicking and kneeing. If technical, it involves dead-ball contact or noncontact at any time which is extreme or persistent, vulgar or abusive conduct. Fighting is a flagrant act.

These words lead you to believe that fighting isn't always a technical foul, despite 10-3 laying it out in very simple terms.

And you are correct on the implications of the distinction.

Personally, I don't think the greater infraction (swing and hit vs swing and miss) should carry a lesser penalty (victim shoots vs anyone shoots). It just feels backwards.