The ball is immediately dead when malicious contact occurs:

• A. Occurs by the offense.
• B. Occurs by the defense.
• C. Both A and B.
• D. Neither A nor B; the ball stays live and in play.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that malicious contact ends the play immediately, no matter who commits it. This rule exists to protect players from violent or intended-to-harm actions and to stop any dangerous situation as soon as it happens. Because malicious contact can be made by either team, the ball is dead right away whether the offense or the defense is involved. The offender is typically removed from further participation, and the appropriate penalties are enforced.

So both teams can be responsible for malicious contact, which is why this statement is correct. If the contact is not malicious, the ball would not be ruled dead for that reason, and the play would continue under the normal rules.