Softball Player Forced To Cut Hair Beads ...

[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).