Softball Player Forced To Cut Hair Beads ...

[Rich]

Originally Posted by SNIPERBBB

It always boggles the mind when you have players that have been playing sports most of their lives getting ear rings or choosing hairstyles just before or worse in the middle of the season that they know or should know will be issues with the rules for a game.

As the parent of a 16-year-old daughter, what's most frustrating is the way many umpires deal with this stuff. Many summer rules sets do not ban jewelry and yet umpires still come in and make their own crap up, all in the name of "safety".

If playing with earrings and the like was so unsafe, why does the NCAA allow it?

I would never, ever make a girl choose her beads or not play, not now. Maybe 20 years ago I would've. Today I am aware at how culturally insensitive at best this can look and possibly worse, depending how the story is spun.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Rich

I would never, ever make a girl choose her beads or not play, not now. Maybe 20 years ago I would've. Today I am aware at how culturally insensitive at best this can look and possibly worse, depending how the story is spun.

In softball, I can agree with Rich (disclaimer: I don't officiate softball), but until I hear differently from the NFHS, my state association, or my local board, I will continue to be the "not woke bad guy" in my basketball games.

No beads. No earrings. No long fingernails.

I am not unilaterally making any safety decisions not fully backed by somebody above my pay grade.

Safety sensitivity trumps culturally insensitivity in my basketball games.

Note: I did like the rule change allowing head coverings for religious reasons without state-level approval, so I do have some culturally sensitivity, I'm not a Neanderthal (although 23 And Me tells me that 4% of my DNA is Neanderthal).

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Rich

As the parent of a 16-year-old daughter, what's most frustrating is the way many umpires deal with this stuff. Many summer rules sets do not ban jewelry and yet umpires still come in and make their own crap up, all in the name of "safety".

If playing with earrings and the like was so unsafe, why does the NCAA allow it?

I would never, ever make a girl choose her beads or not play, not now. Maybe 20 years ago I would've. Today I am aware at how culturally insensitive at best this can look and possibly worse, depending how the story is spun.

The NCAA has fewer schools to deal with and the NCAA likely has more protections of liability. I would not compare that to the NF that likely has one state that has more members than the entire NCAA membership at all levels combined. And I would not ever make a girl take out the beads, but they are not playing with them in my games either. Sorry, had boys do that mess and they had to take them out or not play. Never tell them what to do with their hair, but they are not playing with them on my watch. And as others said, I am not responsible for what other officials/umpires do. The coach should know the damn rules and warn their players of the repercussions. But that is what we get when coaches are not required to take rules test or have to do something more than just complain when they are confronted with a situation.

Peace