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First Artificial Limb
From Jurassic Referee: "I wouldn't accept just anything from the person's doctor. I'd want something from the state association, same as for artificial limbs(3-5-2NOTE) and head coverings(3-5-3EXCEPTIONa)."
After almost 26 years of officiating, I had my first artificial limb, a leg, in a game a few weeks ago. It was in a Catholic middle school game. The young man with the prosthesis was skilled enough to be a starter on his team. It appeared that the only disadvantage he had was that it took a little longer for him to accelerate than the other players. I talked to him about it for a few seconds while we were waiting for subsitutes during a free throw. He had been wearing the prosthesis for several years, plays both basketball and soccer with it, and wears the same prosthesis for sports as he does during nonsports activities.
I had heard about this young man previous to this game from other officials who work these games, and since it was so late in the season, I assumed that he was "authorized" to wear the prosthesis, especially since, unlike a high school game, I wasn't aware of any "state association" for a game such as this. I did mention to his dad, an assistant coach, after the game, that if his team was planning to participate in a postseason tournament outside of our area, that he may want to have some documentation available in case there was some kind of challange.
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