Another weekend of football is upon us so it’s time for another rule of the week. Let’s get personal this time.
Rule 2: Personal Foul
Under the heading of “personal foul,” players are prohibited from directly striking, swinging, or clubbing on the head, neck, or face. Remember those couple of scenes in Mean Girls, when Lindsay Lohan goes all animalistic in her mind on the Plastics? Well, we all know you can’t really do that in the lunchroom, restaurant, DMV, etc. But it’s also not allowed to get out of control on the football field.
Personal fouls are assessed after the result of the play, and can be called on either the offense or the defense.
A fifteen-yard penalty is given to a player who has committed an act of unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct. A personal foul on the defense results in an automatic first down for the offense. Players can be ejected for a personal foul, but it is not automatic. Personal fouls can be called on both teams on the same play.
Needless to say, personal fouls are some of the more stupid and dangerous fouls, because they come out of temper and simply not thinking. It’s a thin line since football is such a brutal sport but they have to keep these guys in check.