In
, clipping is the act of a "throwing the body across the back of the leg of an eligible receiver or charging or falling into the back of an opponent below the waist after approaching him from behind, provided the opponent is not a runner."
[This is the NFL's definition]
Rule 3, Section 5
/ref> It is also clipping to roll up on the legs of an opponent after a block.[ It is usually illegal, but in the ]National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
it is legal to clip above the knee in close-line play. The Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
has similar definitions, prohibitions and exceptions, including that "application of penalty is determined by the initial contact".
In most leagues, the penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
A p ...
is 15 yards, and if committed by the defense, an automatic first down
A down is a period in which a play transpires in gridiron football. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to other codes of football, but is synonymous with a "tackle" in rugby league. The team in possession of the f ...
. It is prohibited because it has the potential to cause injury. Injuries that can be caused by a clipping violation include those to the collateral and cruciate ligaments and the meniscus
Meniscus may refer to:
*Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity
*Meniscus (liquid)
The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
. Clipping was first banned in 1916 in the NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, and rules prohibiting it gradually went into effect in various leagues in the years that followed.
References
{{American football concepts
Gridiron football penalties