Helmet comes off during a tackle, due to prior foul?

[jTheUmp]

A fellow official sent me this this morning:
High School Football Player Gets Helmet Twisted Backwards, Leveled

For those who can't view the video:

Christian Young of Viewmont High School had his facemask yanked so hard by a defender on a play that his helmet was backwards, essentially blinding him. The referee threw an obvious flag, but the play wasn't dead since Young still hadn't been tackled. He stumbled blindly while fruitlessly trying to fix his helmet when—oh, now the play's over.

When the second defender hit the runner, the runner's helmet came off.

Do you make the runner go out for a play or not?

I say no, because, IMHO, the foul by the first defender was the main cause of the helmet coming off, albeit after several seconds had elapsed.

What say you?

[JRutledge]

No, the player should not come out IMO. The foul is what caused the problem. And to the the spirit of the rule this was a result of a foul, but not the usual situation.

Peace

[asdf]

Three things come to mind here.

1) Do not send the player out. (can't put myself in the R's position, but if he saw the helmet turned around, he could have killed the play for safety's sake)

2) Coaches need to take a more active role in ensuring that players are properly wearing their helmets. Players are either strapping the 4 points and sliding the helmets on or loosely setting their straps, then buckling up.

3) The FED needs to increase the amount of plays a player sits for the helmet coming off. One play isn't getting it done.

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by asdf

1) Do not send the player out. (can't put myself in the R's position, but if he saw the helmet turned around, he could have killed the play for safety's sake)

Killing the play in this situation wouldn't be supported by rule... we can only kill it “when the helmet comes completely off the player who is in possession of the ball” (4-2-2k).

With that said, I doubt anyone would raise too big a stink if there was an "inadvertent whistle" in that situation.

And I agree with the rest of you post.

[JRutledge]

The player has got to be smarter too. He is running without his helmet being on properly. Not smart. And I do not feel our job to save him from stupidity either.

Peace

[Adam]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

The player has got to be smarter too. He is running without his helmet being on properly. Not smart. And I do not feel our job to save him from stupidity either.

Peace

It's high school. Of course that's our job.

[Robert Goodman]

I can't see the video, but from the description, his helmet's being on loosely may have saved him from a serious neck injury.

I've never been sure whether the improvements in helmets and rules to protect the head have been worth the increased danger to the neck. Now that helmets have face masks and 4 pt. attachments, you may be luckier if these items fail than if they succeed at staying on your head.