[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

My biggest fear is that coaches, players, and parents will hear about beads now being legal and will misunderstand that to mean that all beads are legal.

Being a mostly middle school official, I know that many middle school coaches are often unaware of equipment rules, and have difficulty explaining such to players and parents.

I just don't want to be thought of as being a racist when I enforce the beads rule as intended by the NFHS and IAABO. I really don't want to see my name in the newspaper, or on the local television news, or in a viral internet post, as has happened to our colleagues in other sports regarding ethnic hair issues over the past few years.

I like the beads in braids that kept close to the scalp, it's a good look. Beads at the end of long braids are also a good look, but can be unsafe when swung around.

I sat in the bleachers near a Black mom braiding her young daughter's hair at a state tournament game a few years ago. What a great bonding experience for both of them. I truly hope that we can pull off this rule change with few problems. It's a good rule change. I hope that it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass, or smack us in the eye.

You realize that there are white girls that wear things in their hair too? I get that you want to be ultra-safe, but white people do a lot of things that other cultures do and act surprised when those things might be problematic. The image that was shown in Referee Magazine in soccer gave many examples of white people wearing their hair with things in them that would be deemed illegal.

Peace