Wrong Way to Start the 4th

[Rich1]

Originally Posted by just another ref

Show me the part where it says it matters what the original cause of the problem is. It says "If by mistake officials permit a team to go the wrong way....." It tells you how to deal with the aftermath. If you see that both teams are actively playing the wrong way, and you don't stop it, then you are permitting it, which is indeed a mistake.

I can't show you what does not exist. We may "permit" a lot of things to happen during a game but that doesn't make it our fault when the outcome is less than desired. If we make an error then we should correct it as prescribed in the rules but not everything that we "permit" is an error. Sometimes its just bad basketball.

This reminds me of a middle school game I worked last year. A1 gets a rebound at his own goal and passes the ball out to A2 who turns and starts running to the wrong end. When he gets about 10 feet from the division line my partner jumps in front of him, puts both hands out and says "no, no, no; you are going the wrong way". I guess we should all be glad he didn't "permit" that mistake.

The difference between how you are applying 4-5-4 and how I am applying it is the way we are defining the word "mistake" and the emphasis you are placing on the word "permit".

You seem to be saying that although the officials did everything they were supposed to do because a enough people (10 players & 2 coaches) have screwed up which basket is their then the refs have made a mistake and permitted them to play at the wrong basket.

I am saying that if the refs have done what they were supposed to do (and they had in the OP) then it is on the coaches and the players to get it right. Again, let me clarify that if I saw them all setting up at the wrong ends I would try to tell them before putting the ball in play but I'm not delaying the game long because it ultimately rests on the coach to tell his players what to do, not me.

I have looked through several years of interpretations and reread that rule several times to find anything that supports your position but its just not there. If you can show me I will gladly change the way I apply this rule. If, by mistake, I permit the teams to go the wrong way then I will certainly stop the game to correct it. But as they are currently written, the rules do not allow us to halt the game just because the teams decide to go the wrong way.