NLL announces Rule Changes for 2007 Season
Published on December 12, 2006 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
The National Lacrosse League has announced its new rules and changes to existing rules, all of which are effective immediately. Headlining the new rules is a new system of severe penalties for any player guilty of committing Dangerous Contact to the Head of another player.
A major penalty and a game misconduct shall be assessed to a player who deliberately and with uninterrupted affirmative force strikes another player directly in the head and/or neck by a cross check. An automatic $1,000 (One thousand) fine and automatic one game suspension shall be assessed to the offending player on the first offense. A second offense would lead to an automatic suspension of a minimum of four games.
"By proactively addressing the contact to the head issue, we will hopefully be avoiding any potential unfortunate injuries that we've seen take place in other sports and leagues", said Bob Hamley, General Manager/Head Coach of the Arizona Sting and Chairman of the league's Competition Committee. "The well being of our players is of paramount concern to us, and we think that we're acting in their best interest by making these changes."
The league has also expanded the definition of what constitutes illegal cross-checking. The definition now includes any cross-checking of a player who is not in possession of the ball. The new rules also ban all forms of Checking from Behind.
In addition to addressing player safety, the league also passed rule changes involving goal scoring and penalty shots. Players will now be able to score a goal on a shot taken from behind the net. A player scoring on a shot from behind the net must remain outside of the crease area when the shot is taken, and the shot must not make contact with the goaltender or the goaltender's stick (think of the shot as a 'swish' or 'nothing but net' in basketball terms).
"Allowing a player to score from behind the net will hopefully return the excitement of what was known as the 'Air Gait' in the late 1980's/early 90's", said NLL VP of Lacrosse Operations Brian Lemon. "The move was invented by Gary Gait while he played at Syracuse University. Gary would leap in the air from behind the opposing team's net, and use his reach and great abilities to score. Fans loved it, and we've made the rule change in our league in hopes of giving our fans a chance to experience the excitement of that play."
The final rule change gives coaches complete flexibility in choosing which of their players will take a penalty shot when one is awarded to their team. Under the old rule, the penalty shot had to be taken by the player that drew the penalty, or in a case of a penalty shot being awarded for a "Too Many Men" on the floor penalty with under two minutes remaining in a game, it was to be taken by a player who was out on the floor when the opposing team was called for Too Many Men.
"The penalty shot is one of the most exciting plays in sports, and coaches will now be able to choose the player on their team who takes that shot in every situation", said Lemon.
Following each season, the league's Competition Committee studies all aspects of the game and recommends new rules and/or changes to existing rules in an effort to make the game more exciting and to improve the safety of its players. The proposed rule changes are then presented to the league's Board of Governors for a final vote.
The regular season opens on Saturday, December 30th. Visit www.nll.com for schedules and more information.
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- NLL announces Rule Changes for 2007 Season - NLL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
