Quote:
Originally Posted by Camron Rust
The NFHS made this change sometime around when Brandi Chastain (US Women's Soccer) made SI's cover with a shirt removal. Many in the NFHS world didn't want teenage girls emulating that and/or thought it was improper for girls to be removing their shirts in public even though that were not naked and had a sports bra or similar under it. So, at least partially due to the above, they made it illegal to take the shirt off in the gym even if it wasn't unsportsmanlike. To be equal, the rule was made to apply to boys just the same.
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Camron is very correct concerning the rule change. While Brandi jersey removal was of great concern to the NFHS Rules Committee, there as also a more the more pressing problem that male professional soccer players by this time had started ripping off their jerseys as a way to show displeasure with a Referee's call in the pitch and male basketball players at the AAU/YBOA and H.S. levels were emulating the soccer players (I am still mystified that American male basketball players at the level were emulating male professional soccer players,
, but that is a discussion for another time.). That said, those in pay grades higher that Camron and me thought the even if the reason for removing the jersey was for changing from damaged jersey or a jersey with blood on it, the player must do it out of sight of the Court.
Now for an amusing and true anecdote. I have a women's college official from Canada who had a game between a National Team of one of the Scanadavian countries against a Candanian college. The Visitor's brought their "home" jerseys to the arena and not their "visitor" jerseys. The Home School offered the Visitors their away jerseys for the game which the Visitors readily accepted the offer. The Home School managers brought the jerseys to the Visitor's Bench assuming that the Visitors would go to its lockerroom and change jerseys. But no, they changed right at courtside. And when they did, the air was sucked out of the gymnasium when the spectators discovered the most of the Visitors did not wear even sports bras under their jerseys,
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MTD, Sr.