[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Fashion Police rules seem to be confusing to members of my association.

Confusing isn't limited to areas outside of my little corner of Connecticut. We're not immune to confusion. We've got a few subvarsity guys, and more than just one, or two, varsity guys that are either clueless, or don't give a damn, when it comes to equipment color restrictions.

The undershirt rule is the most restrictive, yet the simplest, equipment color restriction rule, yet when I walk in to observe a junior varsity game, I often see illegal undershirts. The rule is very basic and very simple to understand (undershirt same color as jersey), so I have to assume that these guys just don't give a damn.

Rules that restrict equipment colors benefit officials by allowing them to easily identify players on each team during fast paced action. Consistency among officials in the enforcement of equipment restriction rules will provide a unified statement to coaches. When some officials choose not to enforce these rules, they are only hurting the profession and setting up the next crew for criticism from the coaches, when, in fact, the officials who did not enforce the rules are the ones who deserve the criticism. For those officials contemplating not enforcing equipment restrictions because such rules have “nothing to do with the game of basketball”, in the words of author Roy T. Bennett, “Stop doing what is easy, or popular. Start doing what is right”.