What is "personal foul"

n. (context sports English) a breach of the rules in certain sports, particularly involving dangerous play.

n. a foul that involves unnecessarily rough contact (as in basketball or football)

In basketball, a personal foul is a breach of the rules that concerns illegal personal contact with an opponent. It is the most common type of foul in basketball. A foul out occurs when a player exceeds his or her personal foul limit for a game and is disqualified from participation in the remainder of the game.

Players routinely initiate illegal contact to purposely affect the play, hoping it is seen as too minor to be called a foul. The threshold is subjective and varies among officials and from game to game. Most contact fouls are not regarded as unsportsmanlike. However, a contact foul involving excessive or unjustified contact is classed as an unsportsmanlike foul (or in the NBA, '' flagrant foul)

Personal foul may refer to:

• Personal foul (American football), a type of penalty in American football
• Personal foul (basketball)
• Personal foul (field lacrosse)
• Personal foul (water polo)

Personal Foul may refer to:

• "Personal Foul" (CSI: NY), an episode of CSI: NY
• Personal Foul (book), a book written by former National Basketball Association (NBA) referee Tim Donaghy

Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA is an autobiography written by former National Basketball Association (NBA) referee Tim Donaghy and published by Florida-based VTi-Group, Inc. in December, 2009. Donaghy, who had resigned from the league as a central figure in the 2007 NBA betting scandal, describes his involvement in and inner workings of the scandal, as well as his gambling addiction.

Originally named Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA, the book was canceled by publisher Triumph Books because of liability concerns. Pat Berdan, Donaghy's liaison with Triumph, said the book was canceled after the NBA threatened legal action—which the NBA denies. Donaghy eventually found a new publisher, VTi-Group, that was willing to release his book. It was subsequently renamed Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal That Rocked the NBA and released in December 2009.

"We approached Mr. Donaghy after learning that his original publishing deal fell through. With a background in web media and traditional publishing, Mr. Donaghy felt that our firm was the best fit to become the publisher for this unique project." said Benjamin Daniel, a project manager at VTi.

In the book, Donaghy describes his time as a referee in the CBA and NBA, discussing the NBA's inner workings, refereeing bias, TV media markets, owners in the NBA, marriage and divorce, NBA scandals, his time in jail, court process, solving the NBA's problems, referee personalities, and his life story.