casey wrote:I don't like the wording of that rule at all. For one it is assuming that the fight is during game play. But what about before the game, or at halftime? And more importantly, how do you define "participating in the game"? Because I would define that as everybody on the active roster, not just the 5 guys on the court. Plus the rule says "bench area". There's plenty of discretion in those words alone, though Stern has been notoriously douchey about it.
Bingo. There's way too much interpretation involved with it and yet common sense never prevails when it happens.