[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by MikeStrybel

Given the litigous world we live in, that seems likely, Rich. Consider the number of times I have had to tell coaches, "This helmet is broken, it's out.", only to hear, "Yeah, I don't know why he keeps bringing it out." and it is a no brainer. While many coaches are diligent and apologetic for equipment problems, some just see it as a nuisance. With the new bat and helmet rules for next year, it should be easier to do but we'll see.

I agree with Rich that some states will require this anyway. But like in football that is a much more violent sport and a sport that has much more required equipment and we do not go to every helmet and check those on a football team personally. So it might be a litigious society, but there are other areas where the officials never check this equipment other than a spot check and I cannot think of a single time someone got in big legal trouble if something went wrong. This puts the responsibly squarely on the coaches since they agree to what is to be used anyway. But then again the penalty for every kid that uses equipment that is illegal can go towards a coach being ejected. So the penalty is much harsher where in baseball we only can give an out or not use the equipment based on when it is discovered.

Peace