Varsity head coach comes to you during the JV game. Here's his tale of woe. "One of our players forgot his game jersey. There's no way that we're going to get it for the game. We'd like him to wear a JV jersey, but the JV jerseys are purple and the Varsity jerseys are black. So he'll be wearing a different color. Can he wear it if we take a T for it?"

This was shared with me over pizza and Diet Cokes last night. What would you do? Allow him to buy his way into the game with a T? Or not allow the jersey at all?

If it matters to your decision, the home team's Varsity jerseys were white. He's definitely going to play and he can't borrow one from a bench-warmer b/c they have a short bench and everyone is going to play.

This was a HS game, btw. If the answer is different for NCAA, I'd be interested to hear that, too.

Chuck:

I don't have the time to research an NCAA answer for you right now, but I would be inclined to tell the Coach V that the player's jersey looked good to me. The intent of the rule is to keep a team from deceiving its opponent. I cannot see how Team V would be deceivng its opponent in this situation.

Merry Christmas!

MTD, Sr.

Wow! Mark must be mellowing in his old age! :)

had similiar situation in lower level this year.

We asked the opposign coach in front of the ohter coach pre-game _ "Coach, Do you have any objection to the uniform"?

Best to clear it up early before competition starts.

In our case it was that the school was short exactly similiar jerseys and they were noticable (grey v silver) off in color.

Felt like the appropriate thing to do, and all party's were happy.

Light purple or dark purple?

Mauve?

Who gives a sh!t. Let the kid play. Nobody's gonna confuse the colors out there and gain any kind of an uinfair advantage from it, as MTD Sr. said.

Don't be an OOO.

As long as the jersey is easily distinguishable from the opponent's jersey, let the kid play.

Z

Apply 3.3.6A (2004-2005 reference) and allow the different shirt, as long as it doesn't cause a duplicate number (and, imo, find some way to alter the number so it's not a duplicate).

NFHS ruling
 

Strict reading of the rule book is that this is an illegal shirt. 3-4-6 says, "The torso of the team jersey shall be the same single solid color from the base of the neck to the bottom of the team jersey."

Therefore, the jerseys of each team member are supposed to be the same single solid color.

Illegal shirts are allowed to be used at the cost of a player technical foul.

Of course, there certainly is an exception which allows a player to change a torn shirt or one which has excessive blood on it to a jersey that is similar in color to the team jersey without penalty.

However, forgetting a game jersey is not the same as having it become unusable. There is a responsibility issue involved. We should ask what life lessons are we trying to teach through HS athletics?

Would I assess the T or allow the kid to play with penalty? I guess that would depend upon how close to Christmas the game is being played. :)
Either way the kid is going to be able to participate.

NCAA ruling
 

RULE 3/PLAYERS, SUBSTITUTES AND PLAYER EQUIPMENT
BR-61
Section 5. Uniforms
...
Art. 2. Game jerseys shall be of the same single solid color.
...
Art. 4. The color, style and design of all teammates’ game jerseys and game pants shall be alike.

RULE 10/FOULS AND PENALTIES
Section 3. Indirect Technical Fouls
BR-137
Art. 11.Wearing an illegal game jersey.
a. Penalize offender with a single indirect technical foul whenever discovered before the ball becomes live.
b. When a violation is committed by more than one member of a team, it shall be assessed with a single indirect technical foul.

There are plenty of reasons to allow one player to play the game. If two, or three, ...or five players come in different colored *dark* jerseys, you just call it rec ball.

Tis the Season to be Mary (Struckhoff) , oops, I mean Merry. Merry Christmas!

MTD, Sr.

...except Mr. Grammar Guy.

Re: NFHS ruling
 

I just don't see that inference, Nevada. There's no rule or definition of "team jersey" as the identical shirts as the rest of the team. "Team jersey" might simply mean the same thing as "game jersey", which is how I've always taken it.

Our pizza group sided with the majority here. No rule mandates that all game jerseys be the same color. Let the kid play with no penalty, as long as it's not confusing to the opponents.

In reading the rule the only inference I can find to support "all jerseys have to be the same color", other than the light color/dark color is the fact that the section is titled Uniforms.

According to the dictionary, one definition of uniform is: Unvaried in texture, color, or design.

But another is: A distinctive outfit intended to identify those who wear it as members of a specific group.

So as long as it distinctly identifies the player as being part of that player's team, it seems to be legal in every respect.

Re: Re: NFHS ruling
 

While I'd let the kid play, the definition of the word "uniform" is that they are the same....including color. If the word uniform is used in describing the outfit, then it is implied that each player must be dressed in the same color/style shirt and shorts.