Earrings and a ponytail.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I know a lot of people in the military and they are not always that conservative. That being said I am sure you are right to some extent, but to say it is the most conservative when people in many parts of the Midwest never see anyone but them in a diversity way, I would challenge your claim on so many fronts. That all being said, wearing a ponytail for a local league is not the same as working a full college schedule as an umpire. The standards are not quite the same and I am sure many of us here are blowing out of proportion what someone looks like based on a very narrow standard. A local youth league needs a body; they are not worried about what they completely look like if they have fewer choices. I know they are not going to get a lot of top umpires or multi-sport officials that are successful as well. Sometimes they will get who they can get. This training looks like that is part of the purpose.

Peace

First, I did not say that San Diego was the "most conservative." I did say, correctly, that it is "one of the most conservative."

Secondly, the umpire to whom I was referring is a top notch umpire who worked the highest level of baseball our association offered, which was D-1 baseball, as well as the plumb HS assignments. He is a great umpire, and his long hair in a ponytail was NEVER a concern to either the association, the assignment secretary, the CIF, or any of the HS coaches, who absolutely loved the guy.

Being bigoted against long hair went out in the 1960s. It's 2009, and people wear their hair any way they choose, and if they can umpire some baseball, and I mean really umpire it, not just be a warm body, then they should get the assignments based on merit, not their hairstyle.