[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by Manny A

True. But historically, flags were used to lead and inspire combatants on the battlefields. And sports participants are combatants of sorts.

As you can probably tell, I do have US Flags on a number of my umpire shirts. In fact, I use the reverse US Flag on my right sleeve, which has been a source of discussion to some. I once had an older gentleman come up to me at the concession stand after I finished a LL baseball game. I assumed he was going to either ask me a question about a rule, or just give me the usual "Good game, Blue," comment that follows our games.

No, he accused me of improperly displaying the US Flag by wearing it backwards. I tried to convince him that it was appropriate to wear it that way on the uniform, because the field of stars are required to be closer to the heart. He said he used to be in the military and he'd never seen it displayed that way. I replied, "Sir, I still am in the military, and this is the Flag I wear on my work uniform every day."

For the record, from the United States Flag Code: "(j) No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations."

This is the reason I have never used a flag patch on my umpire uniform. We do not meet those requirements as sports officials. The blatant misuse of the flag by such organizations as ASA does not make it okay. It merely shows a lack of knowledge concerning the proper way to display a flag.