Unsportsmanlike Conduct or Personal Foul

[mikesears]

Originally posted by pheinen
We've covered this in meetings of two separate associations this fall. Consensus This should be a live ball personal foul enforced as a dead ball foul. The foul had no remote effect on the play, therefore a score should not be nullified. This is a similar treatment to a player dancing in from the 10 yard line as he scores, where an unsportsmanlike foul actually occurred during a live ball.

Signal dead ball personal foul; PAT will be at the 18 yard line.

I'd like to see casebook support for such a ruling.

While such a block has no bearing on the play, it is a SAFETY issue. In my humble opinion, we should penalize any safety issue regardless of where it happens on the field under all-but-one even if it has no bearing on the play.

Example:

Team A runs a sweep play to the right. The left split end (A87)blocks B23 below the waist at the knees. Team A scores on the run. What is your call?

That is why the rulebook differentiates between a live-ball and dead-ball foul. This is NOT an unsportsmanlike penalty because there was contact so we can't treat it like a dead-ball foul.

At least that's the way I see it.