[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by grunewar

Don't be silly, Billy.

Originally Posted by BillyMac

To take it to an extreme ...

I agree, the extreme can be silly.

Originally Posted by grunewar

This appears to be a Nike sponsored contest, with Nike products, I was trying to reach a compromise to allow the players to safely wear them.

If the headbands are the same as the image that I posted earlier, then I don't believe that any compromise is necessary, I believe that these are legal equipment.

While hair is definitely not equipment, it does fall under NFHS safety rulings. Officials can rule that fingernails, also not equipment, are a safety issue, and not allow a player to wear unsafe length fingernails. I doubt that most officials would rule long hair, just because it's long, to be a safety issue, either in a ponytail, or unrestrained. If most officials would deem that long hair wouldn't present any safety issues by "poke(ing) someone in the eye", then most officials would probably not deem that a few inches of cloth on a headband would present any safety concerns.

I am willing to accept that my premise might be wrong, but over thirty-three years, and thousands of games, I've never seen an official remove a player from a game simply because her hair was too long, and thus, unsafe. By rule, we can, but I've never seen long hair, simply because it was too long, be ruled unsafe.

I might (note that I said might) have an issue with long hair tied up into knots at the end, i.e., some type of braiding. These knots, when inertially swung around, could present some "poke(ing)" safety concerns (high school physics, Newton's Second Law, F=ma). But just plain hair, or just plain cloth (on a headband), wouldn't generate the same concern (or Second Law force) for me. Also, obviously, beads on the end of hair, or anywhere, must always be considered illegal.

3.5 SITUATION A: What are the standards which the referee must use in determining whether a team member will be permitted to wear certain equipment? RULING: ... criteria which determine the legality of equipment ... any equipment which, in the judgment of the referee, is dangerous to others ... Equipment which could cut or cause an opponent to have an abrasion is also always illegal and, therefore, is prohibited. It will be noted that the listing of equipment which is always illegal is not inclusive. It cannot identify every item which is not permitted. The generalization is required since the referee’s judgment is necessary.

3-7: The referee shall not permit any team member to participate if in his/her judgment any item constitutes a safety concern, such as, but not limited to, a player’s fingernails or hairstyle.

And most of you guys probably thought that you would never have any real use for high school physics. Now you should all contact your physics teachers and apologize to them. I'm sure that Mr. Letize, my high school physics teacher, and baseball coach, would be pleased that I used a reference to Newton's Laws in a basketball situation. He would always use examples from sports to demonstrate various physics principles.