The worst rule in sports
March Madness is winding down. Your bracket has been busted. Now is an appropriate time to take a look at a true madness – a crazy, insane basketball rule.
With the exception of the ancient Meso-Amercian Mayans’ early version of basketball, when the penalty for the loser of the game was to be executed, the modern rule “5 fouls and out” can lay claim to the worst rule in all of sports. A rule that essentially counters the prime reason to play, which is literally to play. Fans do not come to, or tune into a game, to watch players sit.
When Dr. James Naismith developed basketball, inspired by the classic game “Duck on a Rock,” his purpose was to bridge fall and spring competition. He used the indoor setting to keep athletes active. He addressed fouls in four of his original 13 rules. He felt the game could quickly morph into a tackle-prone contest. These early rules included no “shouldering, pushing, tripping, or striking.” They did not include game expulsion. The rules were clear, in both letter and spirit, that the game official was in charge.
Basketball is the most officially played game in America. By far, the most-played team game is “pickup” basketball – 2-on-2, 3-on-3, etc. You never “foul out” in a pickup game. Fouls get solved.
Imagine an 80-degree day, 90-plus degrees on the cement, and … “Jimbo, that’s five, man, you’re out … you got next.” That will have a happy ending, huh? Pickup has all the rules, including fouls, but not fouling out.
Player safety is the prime consideration. It is the basis for rules, ahead of fair play. The early games were rough. The early NBA had many more fights than did the early NHL. Football is a collision sport, basketball is a contact sport. At times, a basketball player must be removed permanently from the game.
Officials, from the opening tip of the game, own it. The referees don’t require a five-and-out rule to maintain decorum, sportsmanship and order. They are indeed capable. Referees worldwide enforce this rule-laden game. Traveling (euro-steps included), three seconds, out of bounds, etc., with ease, are managed. Fouls, well that’s another matter.
From ancient times philosophers, religious leaders and great thinkers would ponder and discuss, “What is truth?” Maybe after 1891 the debate should have turned to “What is a foul?” and extended into “should we really kick out a player for five fouls, subjectively called, disqualifying him and thus barring him from further participation?”
There is no long-term or short-term agreement to just what a foul is. Some seasons a hand check is a foul, some not. Some games a hand check is a foul, some not. Some possessions a hand check is a foul, some not.
Any official who claims to know exactly what a foul is, probably will be headed into the witness protection program.
Ask any veteran official if there is consensus on what a foul is, they will look over their shoulder to see if anyone is within earshot and whisper, “nope.” Ask a ref if they think the 5-and-out is a good rule, some may say yes, but from others you just might hear back “well, ah, you know, I really gotta clean my garage.”
Referees are loyal to their game, as they should be. That doesn’t make the rule valid or reliable. Five and out is neither. The penalty should be equal to or slightly greater than the infraction, but not cataclysmic.
This piece is not to criticize officials in any way. They make the game work. Basketball is tough to officiate, in many ways the hardest game to officiate. There is no hiding, no distance from coaches or fans. Football officials can hide, soccer refs can run, baseball umpires can try to stay awake. Basketball has too many rules. The best-officiated games are when you don’t even realize the refs were there. Coaches joke that the best compliment you can give a ref is “he’s not that bad.” Refs retort, “Well, you didn’t complain about every call.”
The local officials chapter, Washington, is comprised of outstanding officials who do a tough job well. One thing of note regarding the Washington roster of officials is they treat a middle school game with the same professionalism and effort as they do a high school or a college game.
Basketball officials make hundreds of split-second decisions in a game, some easy, many difficult, very few that please everyone.
Fans come to see teams play, to watch players play. So five and out, why five? Five fingers? One for each quarter plus one? Five is final, absurd. The threat of fouling out looms large in a contest when early fouls are called.
When revisiting the five-and-out topic with Gene Steratore, a former local referee and current national rules expert, a man depended upon endlessly for rules interpretation in every form of media, he stressed the magnitude of early “small change” fouls. These fouls can change the game immediately, and might alter the game. Steratore also emphasizes that 70 percent of calls or no-calls are subjective by nature. I hear a “human nature” underscore to many of his in-game explanations. Whether he agrees or disagrees with the call, he evaluates, he notes the effort involved.
In-game effects upon individuals and teams can be extensive when foul trouble comes into play. If you weren’t going to be expelled, most thought processes wouldn’t change so drastically. Coaching ideology comes to the forefront. A second foul frequently sends a player promptly to the bench, usually for an extended time, maybe until the end of the quarter or half. (By the way, I used to buy into this conventional wisdom. I wholeheartedly do not now).
Players in foul trouble play softer at both ends of the floor. Teams fearing the late-game consequences of fouls will change offensive and defensive strategies, sometimes both. Need to foul at the end of the game to regain possession? Two defensive players have four fouls? That’s a problem. It’s not just the loss of players. People go to watch teams and players play.
Multiple options exist for changing the 5-and-out rule. Some experimentation has occurred. Summer leagues, preseason games and tournaments have engaged in three fouls per half and a variety of other options in order to avoid player disqualifications.
When an official looks to the table and the official scorer raises his/her arm with five fingers extended, that player’s day is done. However, the game goes on. It’s a ludicrous rule.
Grandma, grandpa and little Eddie, whose idol was just dismissed because of five fouls, should get their ticket cost refunded. People go to watch players play.