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The NFHS Officials Manual describes, in detail, the required uniform for HS Officials in 48 States. It includes both "all-white tapered knickers, as well as "By State Association adoption, white officiating shorts (5-inch inseam) may be worn in place of the traditional knickers if worn by the entire crew."
The black pants worn by the NFL officials are designed to go with their proprietory striped shirts, which cannot be worn without permission of the NFL. There is no functional perspective, other than fabric, that differentiates these pants from knickers, and I suspect whatever fabric is used for these pants could be used for white knickers.
A major purpose of the new NFL uniforms was to differentiate NFL officials from officials at other levels, so the league could control how these uniforms might be used in commercials.
The purpose of the current officials uniform is to clearly differentiate officials from players on the field, something white knickers seem to do quite well. If you don't work at the NFL level, and fashion consciousness is a serious concern, there's always soccer.
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