KAYE CORBETT
Pro Lacrosse Editor
Rules are made to be broken.
However, players in the National Lacrosse League have quickly learned that this isn’t the case. And you can bet your sweet bippy on that.
While it past issues of PRO LACROSSE, we’ve mainly dealt with individual players, this time let’s go over some of the official rules, which you may or may not know.
Leafing through the official NLL rule book. We come across Rule 36 (Section 36), which deals with deliberate attempts to injure. It reads as follows: (a) A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who attempts to injure an opponent in any manner, and the circumstances shall be reported to the president for further action. A substitute for the penalized player shall be permitted at the end of five minutes or after two goals are scored by the opposing team.
(b) A match penalty shall be imposed on a player who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner. A substitute for the penalized player shall be permitted at the end of five minutes. (Note: Automatic $100 fine.)
The rule book also covers “the old sleight-of-hand trick” or just where the hell is the ball. It’s Rule 38 in Section 6.
(a) Should a scramble take place or a player accidentally fall on a ball, and the ball be out of sight of the referee, he shall immediately blow his whistle and stop the play. The ball shall then be faced off at the nearest faceoff circle.
(b) If, at any time while play is in progress a ball other than the one legally in play appears on the playing surface, the play shall not be stopped but shall continue with the legal ball until the play then in progress is completed. So there!
Then Rule 50 covers the situation even further by stating: (a) A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player other than the goalkeeper who deliberately falls on or gathers the ball into his body. (b) A minor penalty shall be imposed on a goalkeeper who (when his body is entirely outside the boundary of his own crease area) deliberately falls on or gathers the ball into his body. (c) No defending player, except the goalkeeper, will be permitted to fall on the ball or hold the ball or gather the ball into the body or hand when the ball is within the goal crease. For infringement of this rule, play shall immediately be stopped and a penalty shot shall be ordered against the offending team, but no other penalty shall be given.
And what about fighting. It’s all covered in Rule 31—FISTICUFFS.
(a) A major, double major or minor penalty, at the discretion of the referee, shall be imposed on any player who starts fisticuffs.
(b) A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who, having been struck, shall retaliate with a blow or attempted blow. However, at the discretion of the referee a major or a double minor penalty shall be imposed if such player continues the altercation.
The skipping down to the ‘d’ subsection: A game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player involved in fisticuffs off the playing surface or with another player who is off the playing surface.
And don’t use foul language! Rule 65 states: (a) Players shall not use obscene or profane language or gestures on the playing floor or anywhere in the box. For violation of this rule a misconduct penalty shall be imposed except where the violation occurs in the vicinity of the players’ bench, in which case a minor penalty shall be imposed.
So there are a few of the rules. If you want to know all of them, send $1 to your favorite National Lacrosse League club office and they’ll mail you one.