INTENTIONAL PERSONAL FOULS

A personal foul is judged ‘intentional’ when, in the judgment of an official, it is ‘designed or premeditated ‘. Simply stated, if the player intended to foul then the foul is intentional.

This would all become very easy if lie detectors were allowed at the scorer’s table. They would certainly eliminate the “I didn’t mean to foul’ reaction that 90% of the intentional fouls calls draw. At the same time, we would guess that 50% of ‘normal fouling activity’ would become intentional fouls if the truth were really known.

In any case, there are no polygraphs at courtside, so the determination of ‘intent’ is left to the discretion of the official although some ‘cut and dried’ situations still exist. Consider the following guidelines when judging intentional fouls.

1. An intentional foul does not necessarily involve maiming or decapitation. The severity of the contact has nothing to do with it. A light tug on the jersey wouldn’t leave ‘scratch’ marks, but would still be an intentional foul provided the object were to delay movement to a defensive or offensive position or to prompt retaliation. 2. Certain situations tend to encourage players to foul intentionally. Officials should review these situations in clinics and early games and take special time to educate themselves. Situations include fouling to prevent a ‘sure basket’ on a breakaway or fouls designed to end team control by creating a throw‐in situation. Such fouls may be perceived as the only method to prevent a goal being scored or to end ‘stall’ tactics. In instances of doubt, the rule of thumb is to give the benefit of the doubt to players who seemed to have been playing the ball. An intentional foul is difficult enough to ‘sell’ in the best of circumstances! 3. Any coach or player will attest to the fact that retaliation fouls are ‘always’ called, while many times the original foul that caused the problem was missed. That is why it is so important that officials observe the ‘whole play’. Remember, most retaliatory fouls are more physical than ‘normal’ fouls and usually involve premeditation. The progression is that normal fouls, when missed, prompt retaliatory fouls, and retaliatory fouls, when missed, precipitate flagrant fouls. Even if the original foul is not seen, there is no reason to ignore the second foul or downplay that foul from an intentional foul to a common foul. 4. A foul shall be ruled intentional when a player, while playing the ball, causes excessive contact.

F. Howard Mayo OSAA Basketball State Rules Interpreter