Reddings guide illegal participation

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by mbyron

Doesn't seem much room for interpretation here. A player who last touched the ground inbounds but is in the air above the sideline is inbounds.

Wouldn't argue with your above statement, but that's NOT the problem. The problem, causing all the agita, is the interpretation that a player who has clearly stepped (stomped or laid down) out of bounds (OOB), on his own, can somehow revert back to NOT being OOB, by simply jumping up into the air, even though doing so while remaining outside the field of play, and therefore can legally participate in play from his airborne position, because while in the air, he's, "not touching anything".