Foul by the Thrower (Video)

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by HokiePaul

It would depend on when I consider the ball to be at the thrower's disposal. This is a judgement call by the official and would depend on the circumstances since it is not clearly defined. You start your count when the ball is at the thrower's disposal ... yet the ball is at the thrower's disposal when you start you count.

In this case, I would be starting my count when the player picks up the ball and sprints towards the out of bounds area to initiate a throw in (or contact with another player as it turned out here). In my opinion, this is right before the contact occurs.

Is the player actually in (or has had enough time to be) a position where they can actually execute a legal throwin? If not, then it isn't at their disposal yet. It would be unfair and not with the purpose of the rule to start the 5 count before they could actually execute a legal throwin. Sprinting toward the spot doesn't seem to be a situation where the player could legally release a throwin.