BASKETBALL
EDITOR: SCOTT TITTRINGTON
stittrington@referee.com
RULES, MECHANICS, PHILOSOPHY
TO ‘T’ OR NOT TO ‘T’
Unsporting Behavior Often in the Eye of the Beholder By Scott Tittrington
I
When having a conversation with a player, Kevin O’Neill, Havertown, Pa., must be able to discern when the dialogue crosses a line into unsporting behavior that may need to be punished with a technical foul.
JACK KAPENSTEIN
t’s often said great basketball officiating requires striking the proper balance between art and science. That’s due, in part, to the fact that the rulebooks governing NFHS, NCAAM and NCAAW in some instances provide a perfect blueprint for how an official should operate, and just a few pages one way or the other leave enough room for individual interpretation through which you can drive a semi-truck. Fouls against a ballhandler? It doesn’t get any more cut and dried. Each rule code specifically spells it out: If a defender does X, Y or Z with the hands or arms and makes contact, it’s a foul. The science has been well established. Officials know what constitutes a foul. Coaches generally know what constitutes a foul. Players also generally know what constitutes a foul. (Fans do not know, but that’s an entirely different story.) However, a perfect counterpoint to this science is the art of the technical foul, especially in the domain of “unsporting acts,” “unsporting behavior” or “misconduct.” What exactly does that mean? The rulebooks attempt to provide some additional clarity, using phrases such as “disrespectfully addressing or contacting an official,” “gesturing in such a manner as to indicate resentment,” “using profane or inappropriate language,” “baiting or taunting an opponent” and more. The challenge is these phrases often lead to individual
64 | REFEREE May 2021
May_21.indb 64
3/18/2021 9:06:42 AM
