"But there's another person who is to blame: the referee. Before inbounding the ball, the referee will signal to the player that they either can or cannot run t

"But there's another person who is to blame: the referee. Before inbounding the ball, the referee will signal to the player that they either can or cannot run the baseline. Sure, the referee can blow the whistle every time there is a violation, but it's better to prevent the error in the first place. It would be like letting players line up for a free throw in the wrong order, letting the player shoot and then blowing the whistle for incorrect order." That is completely absurd. Letting the players line up incorrectly would be the referee's mistake — so, yes, it would be better to prevent the mistake from happening. But the player running on the baseline after a violation is the PLAYER's mistake. It's not the official's job to prevent players from committing violations. It's not a technicality either — it's the same rule from when this kid started playing basketball. It's HIS stupid mistake. Period. You can safely assume that he has been playing basketball for 10+ years. The rule is the same throughout junior high, high school, and college. If the player doesn't know the rule by the time he is in the NCAA Tournament, I have a hard time feeling sorry for him. Same goes for the players that got called for running in from behind the 3-point line on free throws before the ball hit the rim. The announcers and fans may not have liked it, but the rule has been there for well over a decade.