Rules Interpretation Meeting--Bicep Bands

[Smitty]

I can't answer that question, and I'm not trying to defend the rule about the sweatbands, either. I was merely trying to explain why I thought the rule was put in place. I honestly don't get the analogy you're trying to make. I would equate the issue more to the rule about shorts being pulled up around the waist and not allowing players to have their shorts down around the middle of their a$$. But the baggy shorts - I don't get what you're trying to say there.

[Daryl H. Long]

Originally Posted by Smitty

I can't answer that question, and I'm not trying to defend the rule about the sweatbands, either. I was merely trying to explain why I thought the rule was put in place. I honestly don't get the analogy you're trying to make. I would equate the issue more to the rule about shorts being pulled up around the waist and not allowing players to have their shorts down around the middle of their a$$. But the baggy shorts - I don't get what you're trying to say there.

for some reason the NF rules committee is confusing "required uniforms" with Legal/illegal equipment or apparel.

Required uniform is shirt, pants, and shoes (BTW: latter two are only mentioned in passing but never defined as the shirt is.)

Equipment/apparel is anything else. The ref is sole judge of legality but NF does provide some guidelines.

The issue with sweatbands has to do with the rules committee being concerned these items were being worn as part of the UNIFORM. If they are worn below the elbow they are just legal apparel BUT heaven forbid I wear the sweatband above my elbow to prevent sweat from accumlating in the crease of elbow because it affects my shot because the NF has said it is illegal because the trend was affecting team uniformity.

Every player on the team can wear the same color wristband on the wrist and no one complains.

Every team member wears the same color sweatband just above the elbow and all of a suddenly it is a threat to team uniformity and just used to draw attention to themselves.

The team members are dressed alike in every way wearing apparel that in reality meets the NF 3 pronged test for legality but only becomes illegal because of location. Absolutely ludicrous.

BTW: I can wear one blue sock and one white sock. i can wear a sock on my left foot and none on my right foot. I can wear one striped sock and one plaid sock. I can wear one sock up over the calf and let the other sock dangle around my ankles.

What? No outrage over this?

[Smitty]

Your arguments are certainly valid. When you look at it like that it really does seem absurd. I sometimes think the people making up these rules are very old and very out of touch with the modern game of basketball. But this is what we signed up to do - uphold these rules that they come up with.

I'm still very happy that I don't have to deal with a gray area of figuring out what a bicep band is, as opposed to a sweatband. We don't allow either above the elbow. Until they change the rule, that's what I'm going to do.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Daryl H. Long

BTW: I can wear one blue sock and one white sock. i can wear a sock on my left foot and none on my right foot. I can wear one striped sock and one plaid sock. I can wear one sock up over the calf and let the other sock dangle around my ankles.

What? No outrage over this?

The funny thing about this comment is the NF did once try to regulate what kinds of socks players were allowed to wear. They used to say that you could not have more than one manufacture's logo on the socks. So at the time if you wore some Nike socks with a logo on both sides of the socks, the socks had to be taken off or turned inside out (which you could still see the back part of the logo). The NF then got rid of the rule and said in so many words, "Socks are not a part of the uniform that schools supply anymore, so we cannot enforce a rule properly with a piece of equipment that each person purchases on their own." Or something like that was said. Now we have a rule that is based on something that is not normally influenced directly by teams or schools like socks to regulate. I just do not understand why this is a priority but socks are not?

Peace