Softball Player Forced To Cut Hair Beads ...

[LeRoy]

It is amazing to me, watching the number of games that I have watch that all the young women DO NOT have anything hard in their hair. Most the women have either braided their hair or have it bunched together with hair ties in 4 to 5 places. All LEGAL!!! This was about a player that breaking the rules and was told to correct it. How they choice to correct it, was their choice. If a player was to get hurt and it was because of the HARD items in her hair. The lawyers would be out. I also do not like being the fashion police, but I enforce the rules. The other place to clean this up is in the pre-season.

[LeRoy]

It is interesting to see the ear rings and Necklace’s .

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by LeRoy

It is interesting to see the ear rings and Necklace’s .

Different sport with different dynamics. Players in softball are rarely anywhere near contact with each other in a way that it could be an issue where basketball has far greater chances for entanglement. And, with the NFHS rules, they like to be consistent across all sports with safety rules to keep it from being too confusing to those that participate in multiple sports.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by LeRoy

The other place to clean this up is in the pre-season.

Customs here in Connecticut have basketball players not wearing "real" uniforms during preseason inter-team scrimmages. Most players wear some type of reversible top, often with an undershirt under the top, undershirts that don't necessarily match the color of the reversible top, especially as teams "switch" colors between games in "jamboree" type scrimmages involving many teams.

We let it go, however when I'm involved in preseason scrimmages, I always point out to the coaches and players that they are in violation of the fashion rules (also including headbands, sleeves, wrist bands, etc.) and that in few weeks, when the season starts, these rules will be enforced.

However, any preseason safety issues are dealt with on the spot, no laxity with safety issues (earrings, bracelets, necklaces, hard hair control devices, long fingernails, etc.) in preseason scrimmages.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Customs here in Connecticut have basketball players not wearing "real" uniforms during preseason inter-team scrimmages. Most players wear some type of reversible top, often with an undershirt under the top, undershirts that don't necessarily match the color of the reversible top, especially as teams "switch" colors between games in "jamboree" type scrimmages involving many teams.

It is for this reason that I'm so vehement about legal undershirt colors in "real" games. During these scrimmages I will occasionally have a slight problem easily identifying players, especially players in close-contact rebounding situations involving fouls, or bang-bang out of bounds plays.

And I'm a guy who over forty years, thousands of real games, tens of thousands of players wearing legal real uniforms and equipment, twice, not once, but twice, called close-contact rebounding fouls on players fouling teammates.

Legal undershirt colors didn't help me in ether of those cases. Imagine if I didn't enforce undershirt color restrictions?

In both situations I had the presence of mind to quickly overturn my own call as I went looking for a color and number (inadvertent whistle).

Rules that restrict equipment colors benefit officials by allowing them to easily identify players on each team during fast paced action.

A player wearing a correct color undershirt in a real game will help insure that we get as close to 100% correct calls as we can possibly get.

In my opinion, from the waist up (including arms and wrists), colors matter.

From the waist down, I'll enforce color rules, but only reluctantly, and I wouldn't shed a tear if such below the waist color rules disappeared (like present shoe, sock, and game shorts rules).

[Kansas Ref]

Uniforms replacement and/or new purchased are expensive--and disproportionately expensive for many of our rural schools.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I wouldn't shed a tear if such below the waist color rules disappeared (like present shoe, sock, and game shorts rules).

I just realized something.

No color rules for socks. Any color goes, don't have to match for an individual player, or for teammates.

No color rules for shoes. Any color goes, don't have to match for an individual player, or for teammates.

No color rules for uniform shorts, that's right, I''ll say it again, no color rules for uniform shorts. Any color goes, don't even have to match for teammates.

And they don't have to be shorts. Skirts, or pants are legal.

And yet, the NFHS has the audacity to ask us to enforce color rules for leg sleeves, knee pads, compression shorts, and tights.

I find that to be some what perverted.

[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I just realized something.

No color rules for socks. Any color goes, don't have to match for an individual player, or for teammates.

No color rules for shoes. Any color goes, don't have to match for an individual player, or for teammates.

No color rules for uniform shorts, that's right, I''ll say it again, no color rules for uniform shorts. Any color goes, don't even have to match for teammates. And they don't have to be shorts. Skirts, or pants are legal.

And yet, the NFHS has the audacity to ask us to enforce color rules for leg sleeves, knee pads, compression shorts, and tights.

I find that to be some what perverted.

I agree. Undershirts should be the color of the jersey, if only because they could be considered part of the jersey when players are moving at full speed. However, any stuff below the waist won't make one team any more or less likely to be confused with the other team.

I see players wearing non-solid socks as the visiting team in soccer all the time (usually white socks with stripes in some other color), and don't see why that should be a big deal, as long as the uniform shirts are white, and the socks are not a color that could be confused with the home team's sock color. I would apply the same analogy to basketball.

RE: The OP, hard beads shouldn't really be a safety issue, because when on offense, the player's hair is likely tucked under the helmet, and on defense, I don't anticipate a situation where any part of the player's hair should contact an offensive player. That said, the rules don't allow hard beads, barrettes, bobby pins, etc., so a player should not attempt to enter a high school game wearing any of those things in her hair.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

No color rules for uniform shorts, that's right, I''ll say it again, no color rules for uniform shorts. Any color goes, don't even have to match for teammates. And they don't have to be shorts. Skirts, or pants are legal.

Are you really sure about that (don't have to match)....look up the definition of the word "uniform". I think the fact that they're part of the uniform implies uniformity in any aspect not explicitly listed as variable...i.e., shorts and pants.