Beads in Hair
 

Monday night, jr high, we had a boy that had beads woven into his hair in the back kind of like a pony tail. I first noticed him warming up with some of the other boys during half time of the girls game. He was pretty good but he had on street clothes and all of the other kids had their uniforms on. I started to ask one of the kids why he wasn't playing but just let it go. My partner had obviously called this team before because everyone in the gym new his name.

When the girls finished, the boys came out on both ends and began to warm up; and, there was the kid with the beads. :eek: I went to my partner and asked him about the beads and he said he always let that go in jr high.


What about you guys? Would you let it go in jr high? Varsity?

barryb

Let a <b>safety</b> issue go? Never! He can't play until he removes them- no matter what the level.

Never, ever mess around with safety items.

beads in the hair can be a tough issue. Having them put in costs a lot in both time and money. When officials don't enforce the rule, kids don't think it matters and they get them in. It's like girls' pierced ears. "But I just had it done last week!!" Why?? Why have them done the day before the season starts?? Wait until March.

Why did that kid have the beads put in right before the season? Why not braid up his hair without them? It's because no one has enforced the rule in the past. If you do it now, he'll remember, and there won't be a problem down the road. If you don't, it'll keep being a problem year after year after year.

Enforce the rule. Be firm but gentle. Don't yell, don't yield. If your partner starts negotiating, or even actively speaks against what you're doing, call your assignor and pass the buck there. Or just walk out. We need to have judgment and discretion, and sometimes the judgment needs to be that a rule is non-negotiable.

I wouldn't suggest this action. This will only come back to haunt you.

Yea, you're right. But if you think there might be a problem, it might be smart to check with your liability insurer to see how they want you to handle it.

I don't know of anything from the NFHS explicitly stating that beads in the hair must be considered unsafe and thus is illegal. Therefore, I believe that this item must fall under the following rule and it is up to referee's discretion. If the referee doesn't believe that the hair style constitutes a safety concern then the team member may play.

RULE 3, SECTION 7 SAFETY CONCERNS
The referee shall not permit any team member to participate if in his/her judgment, items such as a player's fingernails or hair style may constitute a safety concern.

I'm not saying that I don't believe that this is a safety issue or that I would allow the kid to play. What I would do doesn't matter. All I am saying is that JR, rainmaker, or myself can't make the determination that beads in the hair are always illegal. Only the NFHS or a state rules interpreter can do that. Otherwise the decision rests with the referee of that particular game.

What part of rule 3-5-3(e) don't you understand?

<font size = +3><b>"Head decorations, except those specified above, are prohibited."</b></font>

And, yes, the FED did issue something explicitly on head beads. I'll dig it out the next time I'm in MTD Sr's attic.

I don't think anyone would feel really good about allowing this when this kid swings his head around and a bead hits another kid in the eye.

This is a no-brainer (which is why I understand it). :o

Your proclamations of what does and does not fall under a particular official's judgement vs what is mandated by rule is getting very tiresome by now.

We all realize that you read the rule book and spend too much time thinking about it. Give it a rest, OK?

cropduster,
Your partner was wrong. This is different from similar color undershirts, sweatbands, bicep bands, etc. These things could get someone hurt and you in trouble. Tell Mr. Fashion the beads have to go.

JR,
If the NFHS put out something on beads, then I missed it. If you find it, I would welcome seeing it.
You are probably right on this one. However, I do still have some question about how the beads are being used. Are they decorative or are they used to control the hair? Clearly head decorations are prohibited.
On the other hand, the NFHS just published a ruling on hair-control items.
To me this is a key part:

Further, a ribbon worn in addition to a hair-control device is considered to be a head decoration, and is prohibited (3-5-3e). If a ribbon is being worn as a hair-control device, it would be permitted provided it is not judged to be dangerous or inappropriate by the referee (3-5-1).

This seems to say that items worn "as a hair-control device" are legal unless the referee deems them dangerous/confusing/inappropriate under his 3-5-1 authority.

Now I will note that all the items listed by the NFHS are soft (rubber bands, scrunchies, pre wrap and narrow, multi-colored elastic bands) and that beads are presumably hard. That fact could well be enough to require a referee to judge beads to be dangerous and thus illegal.

Are you serious, Nevada? Beads aren't headbands, sweatbands or elastic bands. They also sureashell aren't ribbons. It's that freaking simple. They're hard; they're dangerous; they're illegal.

You're trying to put a round peg in a square hole....and I don't have a clue why.

Had this in a scrimmage this week. My take is this: If by removing the earrings for 90 minutes causes the newly pierced holes to close up, then the kid should get her money back from the ear pierce shop. I always point out to the coach that it is an insurance issue, too, and somehow, the player always chooses playing over keeping the ear rings in.

[QUOTE=Nevadaref]Hair beads seem pretty dangerous to me (and the NF if you would have noticed their comments on the issue). Considering they are little hard plastic objects that if hitting someone in the eye or skin could cause some irritation.