Grey Shirts
 

Are there certain states or areas that are wearing the grey shirts for this years upcoming basketball season? Does national federation leave it up to the states if they want to wear grey shirts or it is a unit decision if that particular unit will be wearing the grey shirts? Does a unit have to petition the state to wear the grey shirts? If you are them who makes the final decision on if the officials will wear the shirts?

2-1-1 . . . The official's uniform shall be a black-and-white striped shirt, black pants, shoes and socks.


So strictly by the book the NFHS does not allow the grey shirt, but we all know that some local areas wear it. Those that do either have the blessing of their state association or their state office just doesn't care.

There are some on the east coast that are wearing the greys now, and it seems like there is a bigger push in certain areas out here for the grey shirts. With the NFL changing their uniforms, and the state directors trying to make the game better for the officials, I predict in a few years that alot more states will be going to the grey shirts, it gives the officials a new look.

Here in Washington State, the gray shirts have been approved by the Washington Officials Association for two years. We have the option of wearing stripes or gray. Everyone in the crew has to have the same shirt of course. I cannot remember the last time any of my partners wanted to wear stripes. The new grays are very popular.

Z

Speaking of the new NFL shirts, I thought us officials were supposed to NOT be noticed on the field/court. With these new things, they might as well be wearing lime green. :rolleyes:

In FIBA competitions the referees usually wear grey shirts, but there are countries in Europe where referees spot such bright colors as orange. The picture is from a game in Belgium :D
http://smittysweb.be/Fotografie/Bask...4/DSC_3004.jpg

Dude, you just started threads with these same questions in April and in May.

Are you obsessed or are you a vendor for gray shirts?

Get over it, it ain't happenin'.

This has nothing to do with grey shirts, but I don't want to start a new thread.

But are the side-panel shirts "college" shirts. I know they were widely used in the tournament last year and that's how they are being advertised.

However, all the major sellers of official's gear (Honig's, Gerry Davis, etc.) don't say not for high school use (like they do for the CCA logo).

Nevadaref has provided the official's uniform reference... the shirt seems to meet the requirement....your thoughts for use in Fed games?

Unless there is something very specifically said I see no problem with these shirts being worn. I even asked this question of two well known people and I got different responses. So unless someone says something publicly or directly, then I see nothing with wearing them. Just understand that someone might at some point outlaw these shirts. The shirts are still black and white. The only difference is the panel which in my opinion is really not that noticeable.

Peace

In Wisconsin our govverning federation body (WIAA) had declared that the wide panel shirt should not be worn. We are told they are illegal. I have a tough time finding out where they are declared illegal or why! I believe it is solely the decision of the person in Wiscionsin in charge of basketball.

I agree with JRut. They are not that noticeable and the reason for the side panel is for a cooler shirt. I guess if the Fed doesn't want them, they'll have to be more specific in the book and state how wide the stripes have to be.

See there are other states declaring shirts legal and illegal... not just the Granite State.

Mike, my guess would be that they wouldn't want officials in the same game wearing different shirts. So rather than required everyone to buy new shirts, they simply ban them.

How does the width of the black stripe make the shirt cooler (assuming you mean "temperature" and not "social acceptance")?

Essentially the same reason they give for why we can't wear anything but navy and powder blue in HS baseball......

I don't really care whether we wear the new shirt or not. But I have to disagree with those who think that the wide stripe is not noticeable. I think it's very obvious when the shirt is worn. I don't think it looks "terrible" if one os the shirts is different from the others, but it is clearly noticeable. IMO.

The material for the panel is micro-mesh... which most of the new shirts are that anyways, so I am not really sure how it is cooler. I haven't noticed any difference from the original shirts and these new ones (material), but I've recieved a couple compliments that they look sharp. I notice the difference, but that may just be me.

In our group have had discussions on the wide style shirts. For myself, I would not wear a wide style shirt if partners also did not also have they same shirt. Why would I want to have a different appearance than my partners? If I decided to purchase the wide style shirt I would bring both shirts to each games in order to insure that as a crew with all have the same appearance on the court

The black strip is made of a different material than the rest of the shirt. Kind of like a screen door as compared to a sliding window. Even though the shirt I have the entire shirt is rather cool (as in temperature) and a very breathable material, but the side panel (that is all black) gives more air flow with the shirt. I have two of the shirts and purchased them this summer and I love them. A lot better than the polyester shirts and look better than the traditional mesh or micro mesh shirts if you ask me.

Peace

I don't really have a firm opinion on the wide-panel zebra shirt. I do know that the NCAA modified their rule book to explicitly allow the wearing of it a couple of years ago. So perhaps without a similar change in the NFHS book, this shirt should be considered not to meet the current standards.

On the other hand it is hard to argue that it is not a black and white striped shirt! So my thoughts on the actual wearing of it are:

1. It should only be worn if the ENTIRE crew is wearing it. The officials are a team and their uniform needs to be the same. I have seen a couple of HS games in which only one official on the court wore this shirt and it did make him stand out.

2. The thick black stripe IS noticeable. It stands out every time an official raises his arm for a foul or violation. If that side of the official's body is facing the table, the coaches especially take notice of the different look. This was particularly true in the game that I mentioned in #1. So much so that one coach became upset because he felt that whenever "the official with the stripe" made a call it went against his team. He became fixated on the guy with the stripe and it eventually led to his removal.

3. At this time people in the basketball community do understand this shirt to be a "college shirt." I'm would be wary of giving the impression that the officials are big timing the HS game by wearing it.

4. There will be some adjustment period visually, but as this shirt becomes more prevalent the problem of #3 should disappear as people get used to seeing this style of jersey on the officials. That is normal for any change.

So what you're saying is because this 1 official wore the shirt with the wide black side panels instead of the standard shirt he got on the coaches nerves and this led the coach getting not 1 but 2 T's. And if he was wearing a regular shirt the coach would have been a happy little lamb and would have happily accepted any call that came his way.

This is what you're telling us?

So what you are telling me it is OK to have crew members where three different shirts without the panels, but to wear the panels is a no-no? For example on official wears the polyester, one wears the micro-mesh, and the third official wears the poly-cotton. All three shirts look different.

You are kidding right? I guess officials should not have different body types, be different races or different genders. I have heard coaches make a point of all these things and I hardly ever work on a crew where I am the same race as both my partners or in many cases I am not the same gender and I definitely do not have the same body type as my partners and I always hear my partners singled out by their features and look. I guess we all should wear the exact same pants too.

Funny, I did not have one person even comment on it when I wore them all summer. The only feedback I got was when I asked someone directly about wearing them. So far I have not gotten a clear answer.

That is about the only thing I agree with.

Peace

I think what Nev is saying is that because the official stood out it was more obvious to the coach that the calls he disagreed with were coming from just that one official. Seldom does a coach go off at an entire crew to the point that he gets tossed. It's difficult to get that worked up at a group. It's more often the case that he goes off at a single official.

Of course we'll never know whether the coach would have been tossed had they been identically attired. It's not that difficult to identify individual members of a crew by height, weight, gender, skin color, hair color, etc. But you usually have to be paying some added attention to realize that the taller official has all the calls against you. Throw in something so eye-catchingly novel as the wide black panel and you can't help noticing it's the same guy time after time. Why stand out like that?

So all these years the only way I have ever been identified or my partners have been identified on the court is by the shirts we wear? Man, I cannot wait until I actually wear one of these shirts during a game. Then when they talk about the fat referee or the guy with grey hair, they really can identify us. ;)

Peace

Unfortunately Jeff, someof the fat referees also have grey hair and vice versa, so it will still be difficult to distinguish between the officials. :)

No, that's not what he's telling you, and no, they don't look different enough for anyone to notice, assuming the poly-cotton hasn't faded.

Well that is a matter of opinion. The reason I have never purchased a poly-cotton was the way those jerseys fade after a few times in the wash. They look very different to me and I can spot those shirts a mile away. This is why I do not have any in my closet.

The point is if the NF does not want these shirts to be used, they better make it clearer than what you guys are claiming. All the NF says is a black and white striped shirt. It is not like we are talking about a different color shirt. We are only talking about a style and there is more than one style of black and white shirts.

My main point is I have never heard a coach ever identify an official by the shirt. I have witnessed or been identified by things like race, color, hair style, size, where I live or any other distinguishing characteristic someone might see. I have never, ever had anyone point out the type of shirt someone wears and get mad over it.

Peace

I already agreed with that above.

Well, if it's only about the style of the shirt then is it have a problem for one official to be wearing a collared shirt while the others are wearing V-neck?

Or even, by your logic, this shirt would be okay because it is just a different style of black and white stripes:
http://espn-att.starwave.com/photo/2...a_refs_195.jpg


So because it hasn't happened to you it can't be true? :rolleyes:

Perhaps you could try wearing a red T-shirt for a game and see what happens.

I wish they would let us wear grey shirts in Texas.

After going to my camp in Florida, where they are allowed to wear the grey's, I got very jealous.

I realize this was an old discussion.
 

:) Nevada,

Even if someone made an issue out of the shirt, it still would not change how I feel about the shirts. The shirts are black and white. If coaches identify us by other means, they will and can identify us by the type of shirts. There are already different styles of black and white shirts and you can look at officials and see a difference. I am not surprised this upsets you so much.

Peace

Speaking of Winthrop/NC
 

I immediately noticed that Bernard Clinton was wearing a "side-panel" shirt while Lopes and Kitts weren't. Did the "side panel" play any factor into the calling of the "blarge"? I didn't watch the game past the the first TV time-out so I didn't personally see the "blarge". I do notice in the box score that Winthrop only shot 1 free throw. I wonder if the fact that they attempted 38 3-pointers had anything to do with that or will some Winthrop fanboy come on this site complaining the UNC was getting all the calls?

I think you would likely perceived as big timing if you wear the side panel in high school.

I dont understand why people are so excited about the grays. What is wrong with black and white stripes?

In Ohio, we wear the stripes and most are wearing the mesh. Maybe the situation why so many people like Gray is they were out in mesh first? (asking)

Kansas has also specified that the side panel shirts are not to be worn.

I think the whole thing with shirts is personal preference. On the other hand, I would love it if the NF would outlaw state patches on shirts.

As far as the wide panel shirts, around here, my main assignor said he didn't like them, but would permit them as long as the entire crew wore them. I haven't seen any HS crews wearing them.

VHSL (Virginia) has declared them illegal too.

We haven't had any mention of the side panel shirts here in Vermont, but we have been using the gray shirts as an alternate for the past 3 seasons and now into our 4th in a couple of weeks. I personally like the grays, but wear underarmour because the sweat shows through a lot more than with the zebras.

In our IAABO Board we received permission from the state of Maryland to wear the grey shirts and personally I like them.


In the MD JUCO conference we also wear grey shirts. Do any of you wear grey shirts for JUCO?

All my shirts now (that I wear, anyway) are Officials Choice shirts. I ordered a few side panel shirts just in case I have partners that want to wear them. This is after ordering more of the "high school" version late last spring before camps started.

The base material for the side panel shirt is still the same as the HS shirt, though the panel is slightly different. I've worn the shirts a couple of times and I don't think its a big deal, nor do I think its all THAT noticeable. What is different on the side panel shirts at OC is the loop at the neck is a wider and different material than the loop on the other shirts. I don't know if that's an intentional design change or what.

I don't own a grey shirt and don't think I'll need one anytime soon. Nowhere around here is going to it. TASO actually threatened people that used them (from what I heard), and the college assigner assigns NCAA, NJCAA, and NAIA, so until NCAA changes the rule, we aren't going there.

They did? Do you have a link to that posting? I know of one guy in our association who wore them last season.

We do around here. I don't really care for them personally, but does the shirt make the referee or does the referee make the shirt?:D

Personaly I have both and don't wear the grey for VHSL, but do use them for JUCO and other leagues. Leaving it up to individual association will only cause mass confusion. If some wear grey and other wear Stripes, what happens when you go to states.

It's just a perception. I really don't give a rats A$$, just need to make up their mind which way to go..