Over the years, players and coaches have increased their use of phones on the benches, leading to instances of them being caught using their devices during play. However, the NBA is introducing a new rule to cut off their connections to the outside world during games.
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The League will introduce an updated policy to prevent players and coaches from using their mobile phones while on the sidelines. This rule will ensure that each team has a point of contact for calls and messages coming to players in case of an emergency or otherwise. NBA insider Ian Begley reported,
“The NBA will restate the previous rule that prohibited players and coaches from using their phones to post on social media or share video footage (or other information) to a game official, media member or basketball operations personnel seated courtside from 45 minutes before tipoff until after postgame media obligations, sources say.”
NBA officials are expected to communicate the full details regarding this updated policy within this week. It is certainly a big change for players and coaches, who are used to the freedom of using their phones during games. But there is a crucial motive behind this new policy that relates to the integrity of the NBA.
NBA is trying to uphold the integrity of the game
While this new rule will prevent players from sharing videos or sensitive information on the sidelines, it also ensures that both active and inactive players, as well as coaches, remain fully engaged with the game at all times. More importantly, it will uphold the integrity of the game in relation to gambling. The NBA is trying to avoid another Jontay Porter situation.
In April this year, Porter was banned from the NBA for reportedly sharing information with bettors about games while in the G-League. This brought up serious questions about the integrity of basketball’s biggest league and the growing sports gambling industry.
Now, the NBA is taking strict action to prevent such an incident from happening again. Players and coaches will have to adapt to the new rules over time.
