HS uniform
 

SECTION 4 UNIFORMS ART. 1 . . . Team jersey color and design shall adhere to the following: a. The torso of the team jersey shall be the same single solid color for all team members.

I have recently come into disagreement with some officials that if the uniform isn't exactly the same color, the player can't play. For example a sophomore has the old blue uniform and the varsity has the new blue model and the shades are slightly different.
Some officials say they can't play because they aren't the "same" color.
Any thoughts on how to argue that the player should be able to play by rule?

Three responses:
(1) Who is the R?
(2) "I'm colorblind, looks good to me."
(3) Case Play 3.4.1 SITUATION B is analogous: Team A has white home jerseys with black and red trim around the neckline and armholes and a black and red-patterned design in the side panel. Team member A15 is from the Junior Varsity team and will participate in the Varsity game. A15’s jersey is white, but has (a) no trim around the neckline and armholes; (b) only red trim in the side panel; (c) no trim whatsoever. RULING: Legal jersey in (a), (b) and (c); A15’s jersey has not violated the uniform rules.

Don’t trouble trouble.

To start with, the penalty for illegal uniforms of players who participate is a direct T to the coach. Coach can keep them on the bench to save a T. Only illegal equipment and apparel prohibits players from playing.

This is the correct response by rule. If the torso of a player's jersey is not the "same single solid color" as those of the other teammates, then the rule has been infringed and the proper penalty is to be assessed. As noted above, that is simply a direct technical foul to the head coach of the team. The penalty does not prevent the individual from participating in the contest.

I suggest that a "slightly different" shade of blue is not illegal under 3-4-1 and that, consistent with the intent and purpose of the rules, the caseplay modifies the "illegal uniform" idea. Is "slightly different blue" the equivalent of "trim"? If not, then the JV jersey in the case play is illegal and has violated the rules. But the case play says the jersey is legal.

Examples of illegal uniforms--generally applicable to all team members--in the case book are very different than a slight difference in hue.

Suppose a player forgot his blue jersey but had a green one. Are you going to let him play at the cost of a T, because it's an "illegal uniform" and not "illegal equipment"?

Unless there is an old case play, no longer in the book, to the contrary, this is how I would argue to the "can't play" officials.

[QUOTE=LRZ;1041052]I suggest that a "slightly different" shade of blue is not illegal under 3-4-1 and that, consistent with the intent and purpose of the rules, the caseplay modifies the "illegal uniform" idea./QUOTE]

Similar to the "undershirt much match the jersey" rule -- how exact do we want to be.

I often say that when I was in kindergarten, I only had the box of 8 crayola crayons, not the box of 64 with the sharpener on the side. So, I only know blue, black, green red, yellow, orange, brown, white and not sky blue, baby blue, light blue, carolina blue, honolulu blue.... So, that's the (general) criteria I use.

And, in the OP -- it might also depend on how much the Soph plays in the V game -- if it's in a mop-up role at the end of the game I'm likely to be more forgiving than if he's the first sub off the bench.

I'm looking for reasons to let the player play, not trying to find reasons to keep him from playing.

I'm going to tell my partners (and the opposing coach, assuming he even has a problem with it), that I'm making the decision to let the player play and feel free to contact our supervisor, as will I.

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Any R who would assess a direct T on a high school coach for one of the player's jerseys being a slightly different shade of blue is an overly officious official with whom I have no desire to work.

If there's no confusion on the part of the opposing team - we're playing ball in games where I'm the R. And I dare the opposing coach to call the assigner (no coach I work for would).

White Is The New Black ...
 

Suppose a player forgot his blue jersey but had a white one. Are you going to let him play at the cost of a T, because it's an "illegal uniform" and not "illegal equipment"?

No Yellow Or Orange In High School Basketball ...
 

And no crying in baseball.

Real colors are only one syllable.

[QUOTE=bob jenkins;1041053]You'd think that a second team player on the V team would be given the proper uniform. That's the common practice around here. Rarely see a JV uniform with the V team but the opposite is common.

Give An Inch, Take A Mile ...
 

Several years ago, during player introductions, my partner and I noted that a visiting starting player wearing a very dark purple road jersey (that we called one syllable “Black”) was wearing a black undershirt, with extremely short sleeves. We both decided to let it go but to mention to the player and coach that said player should get a purple undershirt.

In the second period a visiting substitute takes off his warmup jacket and heads to the table to enter the game. He's wearing a long sleeve black undershirt under his dark purple jersey, the long sleeve black undershirt being much more noticeable (and illegal) than the starter wearing an extremely short sleeve black undershirt.

This quote immediately came to mind:"No good deed goes unpunished." (Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, poet, and author)

Dark Purple, Black; Potato, Potahto; Tomato, Tomahto.

We let him enter.

So we are going to penalize the school because a jersey of the exact same color does not fit, might have been damaged, or they could not afford extra jerseys to hand out to all their kids? Nope. Let them play and move on.

Same with the undershirt, if the jersey is black, I am not going to expect everything to match exactly to that black of the jersey. Hell they can wash something and it will fade. It is not that serious people. What is the spirit of the rule?

Peace

Don't think anyone is saying to charge a T here. The OP was asking whether the players could play at all.

Gray Is The New Black ...
 

I've had partners who don't realize that when black pre-wrap is stretched to be used as a headband, it looks more like gray than black, but it's still black.

See above.

Well anyone can play with an illegal jersey but they have to suffer a technical foul in the process. But since this is an issue of do we give a T, do not split hairs because of some extraordinary situation. As I said, if they are trying to be legal, they are legal, use common sense.

There is a difference between wearing black and having multiple shades of that black or having black and white jersey on the same team and thinking that does not fit the compliance of the rules. Just keep it simple. Often different items are not going to perfectly match.

Peace

Common Sense, Purpose, Intent ...
 

Nevadaref's statement includes "by rule" that most likely means "on a written test".

We all know that one doesn't officiate a real basketball game by rule 100% of the time.

I've known a few officials who knew every rule and interpretation back and forth, up and down, inside and out, but didn't know it the basketball was stuffed or inflated in a "real" game.

I do not think for a second that the intent of the rule was to be that specific or that ridged in practice. I think they did not want two entire different colors used. Kind of like the undershirts that are one color and the stitching is another color. I know officials that would have players remove shirts over the color of the stitching. Why do that?

Peace

Raymond: "I'm looking for reasons to let the player play, not trying to find reasons to keep him from playing."

Jeff Rutledge: "I do not think for a second that the intent of the rule was to be that specific or that ridged in practice. I think they did not want two entire different colors used."

Raymond and Jeff both said it much better than I did. I especially like the formulation to find reasons to let the player play (and not at the expense of a T, I would add).

Huh? When did the focus of this thread shift to should we issue the technical foul?
The OP quite clearly states that the issue is whether the individual should be permitted to play with a jersey of a different hue from his teammates. He specifically asks for thoughts on how to argue that the team member should be able to participate BY RULE.
I was one of the responders who told him that the penalty for infringing the jersey color rule is not that the individual is forbidden from playing, but rather that the head coach receives a direct technical foul. His colleagues who contend that the kid cannot play are completely incorrect and have no rule basis for prohibiting his participation. That is what is under discussion in this particular thread. This is a conversation about what the text of the rules state, not a discussion of one’s philosophy on how to handle uniform issues when they arise in practice. They OP did not inquire about that.

Of course, those folks who always show up and call anyone who mentions a technical foul for uniforms or other administrative reasons over-officious descended upon this thread and espoused their philosophy without bothering to read the actual text written within it. Their need to feel superior to others and knock their responses because they don’t jive with their personal feelings is sad.

So, in short, to anyone writing that someone is advocating a technical foul and that is a poor way to handle this, and blah, blah, blah—-Shut up!

Threads here often go into related questions, and that is, IMO, a good thing, so we can discuss the implications of an OP.

A natural progression: Can a player play with a slightly different color jersey? If so, is there a penalty, and what is it?

If someone is unhappy about the direction a thread has taken, he/she can always stop reading it.

If you say that the jerseys are not fitting the rule meaning sharing the same color, then the only remedy by rule is a technical foul. So you either allow some level of compliance or you suggest that the rule is being violated. It is really not that complicated.

And my comments were not specific to anyone. Just stating that we should do whatever we can to allow those to play without any penalty when we can.

Peace