Valentines shoes on ESPN

[just another ref]

I shouldn't have mentioned belts. It was an unnecessary and pointless distraction to the original thread. To me this is not about belts or shoes, but about rules, and the need to follow them and/or which ones truly "don't matter." A couple of posters referred to Valentine getting away with something, and at least one said nobody cares, I think. Which leads to questions. Is he truly getting away with something because of who he is, or could a rookie at this level wear any kind of shoe and be okay? And if he is allowed special privileges, do those of you here that call at the college level find that acceptable? I agree that it doesn't matter, and unless they're fluorescent or something, I'm unlikely to notice a partner's shoes. But if it truly doesn't matter, why is it in the books at all? Especially the part about being approved by an individual conference.