Illegal Use of Helmet

Listening into a conversation I overheard that some coaches teach players to put their hands out as part of a tackle and that if the helmet then makes contact after the hands touch the opponent then this exempts them from Spearing or Illegal Use of the Helmet rule. This is incorrect from the NCAA perspective. Use of the helmet is illegal and intent does not have to be proved in its use to attempt to punish an opponent. The best way is to have your head up looking at who you are going to hit or tackle. But the facemask is also illegal in contacting an opponent in an attempt to punish them. The player should not be lining an opponent up to ‘stick him in the numbers’ purely using his head or using a reason that his hands touched first.

There are times though when a ball carrier and opponent will make helmet-to-helmet contact because both have got low in the tackle. This is very hard to officiate to make a judgement on who initiated this contact. Was it the tackler or was it the ball carrier? Should they both be penalised and have offsetting live ball fouls? Who has the duty of care to avoid such contact? Who has right of way in a collision sport such as Gridiron?

The rules definitely allow for ruling on the side of safety and the official will judge in a split second when seeing all the action whether the defence or the offence used the helmet illegally.

Let’s ensure we all use our head in the correct manner and protect our spine while enjoying the best collision sport in SA.

Regards

Grant Martin