SOCIETY REPORT CARD - WHO CALLS FOULS?

by Jack Cobra, Cobra Brigade

For those of you who missed my first 'Society Report Card' and second 'Society Report Card'....I was able to earn a Sociology minor in college and probably should have gone through Grad School because of it. So, from time to time I like to brush up on my skills and make my own little report card on Society. I usually just keep it to myself because it involves politics, race issues, socio-economics issues, how people drive, people who have too many items in the express checkout of the grocery store, helping old ladies across the street, etc. You get the point. This time I'll bring it to you in full effect. You should now feel impressed.

My friends and I are getting ready to start playing pick-up basketball with a gusto that is rarely seen by 5-6 white guys outside of an establishment with alcoholic beverages. We have a couple of former college athletes on our team, so we like to play at a pace that is quicker than most. We slash to the bucket, crash for rebounds and play pretty tough defense. We are an aggressive bunch and sometimes...people don't like us. So, when we are playing against them, they usually foul us....a lot. That brings about the question I have for you today....when playing pick-up basketball, who has the responsibility of calling fouls? The offense or defense?

As I stated before, we have some pretty good athletes in our group. For the most part we are all aggressive players who welcome contact and have no problem driving the lane and taking some punishment. The only problem is....at times no one will call foul. We are never sure who is in charge of calling fouls. When I played basketball while growing up the defense called fouls. I'm not sure if my Dad set the rules that way to help instill honesty and integrity in me, but it worked. When I played in college, the offense called fouls and the games took forever. Now that I'm out of college it seems that no one knows who is supposed to call fouls.

I'm a firm believer that it is the responsibility of the defender to call fouls. I think it's an integrity and honesty matter. You know if you fouled me, be honest about it. Actually, we both know if you fouled me, so go ahead and call it. If you are smacking me on the wrist on you swat my hand as I let go of my jumper....call a foul. I'll respect you more after that.

A guy that will call fouls while he is on defense is a guy I can respect. He's working hard, but there are times when fouls happen. Instead of trying to be sneaky and getting away by fouling and not calling it, he's keeping the game honest. I can appreciate that and so can my teammates. None of us are professional players here, I don't expect you to play like one. I do expect you to be an honest person though.

So, why shouldn't the offense call fouls? Well....because the purpose of the offense is to do whatever it can to score points. Set screens, run the pick and roll, etc....they are selfish by nature. They can't be trusted to make the right call because they are so worried about scoring points which...helps win the game. I'm sure we've all been a part of a game where it's down to game point and a guy continuously drives the lane, misses the lay-up and then calls foul as the other team is driving down the court for the winning bucket. I know I have...I've been that guy. If you allow me to call fouls while on offense I'll call it more often than if I'm on defense. I like to drive to the bucket and I'm actually looking for contact when I go, so....when you hit me, in my mind that's a foul.

But...if it's a known that the defense is calling fouls ahead of time....before the game starts...then players will know that they can't just drive the lane with reckless abandon in the hopes of calling a foul on the defense. That is why it should be up to the defense to call fouls. They are the protector of the basket...and the protector of the game. So, next time you go play ball, make sure you say before the game...."defense calls fouls".

(Originally published 10/8)