Tripping the Runner

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Bob M.

REPLY: When I began officiating, tripping the runner was illegal in Fed as well. They changed the rule to allow tripping of the runner in 1981.

Why do you think they made that change? Was it to get rid of a difficult call? It was a rare one. I'm guessing umpires didn't like looking down & deciding whether a player's foot placement was for support (especially in contact with an opponent) or to trip.

However, since that change was made I have been surprised how few players took advantage of it. I expected a lot of feet to be stuck out.

Robert