Rules Interpretation Meeting--Bicep Bands

[Daryl H. Long]

Originally Posted by Smitty

I'm pretty sure it's not about function or safety - it's about the uniformity, if you will, of the uniform. They appear to not want any individual player to dress in a certain way that is showy or "bigger than the game". I would argue that the vast majority of kids who wear sweatbands on their upper arm do so as a fashion statement, not as a functional piece of equipment.

Given that statement the baggy shorts popularized by the Fab 5 at Michigan should have been declared illegal. Most teams who adopted that style (fashion) if that is the word you prefer did so out of how it looked, not functionality. Why not illegal? Because it met the 3 criteria a referee must use to determine legal/ilegal equipment. This is NF criteria, not mine.

1. Nothing in their nature was inherantly dangerous
2. Not unnatural or designed to create an advantage.
3. Appropriate to basketball and not confusing.

Which of those 3 causes a sweatband on the upper arm to be deemed illegal?