A difficult call to make, and more difficult to explain

[LaxRef]

Originally posted by hab_in_exile
If the player releases the ball, backwards, while moving forward at 18mph, it is going backwards and will land (absent a wind) at a location behind where it was thrown. There is no exception to this, as the creation of momentum is impossible (in our universe, if we starting playing football in other universes all bets are off).

Well, sure, if it's actually moving backwards relative to the ground when released, it's going to go backward. But the issue is that he may be throwing it backward relative to his body, but the ball may be moving forward relative to the ground because of his speed.

Try this: drive 65 mph, and just as you pass a parked state trooper, throw a 10 Kg bag of cocaine slightly backward. Now, relative to you, you're throwing it backward, but relative to the state trooper it's still moving about 60 mph and will land at a point past the state trooper. When you get out of jail, please report back with the results!