Elbow Swing

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by maven

Holding the ball cannot possibly be a foul on the player in control. I suppose the defender might throw his nose into the big guy's elbow, but that would be on him.

I did not miss your point: you're saying that contact that would hit a 6'6" big man in the chest and be a PC foul will hit a 5'10" guard in the nose and be INT. That makes the "severity" of the foul turn only on player height. You regard this result as nonsense.

I disagree. The rules makers have put the burden on the player who wants to "clear out" to be responsible for where his elbows go. This choice, as you know, is rooted in a desire to minimize contact to the head. If you don't want to risk hitting the guard in the face, don't clear out.

Pivoting to make an outlet pass is not a clear out. One has to see the entire play to determine if A1 intentionally elbowed B1 in the face or if the contact was non-intentional illegal contact.

As an interpreter and a historian of the rules, the NFHS Rules Committee is making decisions that show that a majority of the members are lacking in rules knowledge and the history of the rules.

MTD, Sr.