New poster

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by fiasco

Really? Never heard this one before...

Yes really. Now some will agree but I equate officials wearing pants with belt loops as a football official and a baseball umpire wearing an adjustable hat. It makes you look like you cannot take the time to detail (IMO). If you cannot take the time to find pants that fit, you might not take the time for the many other things that requires a little extra time off the court.

Peace

[fiasco]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It makes you look like you cannot take the time to detail (IMO). If you cannot take the time to find pants that fit, you might not take the time for the many other things that requires a little extra time off the court.

Interesting. So are ALL of your pants (officiating and otherwise) sans belt loops?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by fiasco

Interesting. So are ALL of your pants (officiating and otherwise) sans belt loops?

Yes, all my pants are belt less. I have not worn belted pants since my first season. And half way through that season I bought a couple of pair of belt less pants.

Peace

[fiasco]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Yes, all my pants are belt less. I have not worn belted pants since my first season. And half way through that season I bought a couple of pair of belt less pants.

Peace

I understand your officiating pants are beltless. I'm asking about your everyday pants. Or do you wear your officiating pants to work, etc?

I only ask because I don't understand (probably because I've never owned a pair of officiating pants) why the standard belt loop pants are frowned upon. In modern society, belt-less pants are reserved for women and senior citizens.

[mick]

Originally Posted by fiasco

In modern society, belt-less pants are reserved for women and senior citizens.

Do you have a source for this information?

[Mark Padgett]

I can't believe no one mentioned the first rule of officiating:

Tuck your whistle in your jersey before you take a leak.

[TimTaylor]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I can't believe no one mentioned the first rule of officiating:

Tuck your whistle in your jersey before you take a leak.

And the crucial final equipment check before you leave the locker room.....Fly - Whistle - Patch

[grunewar]

and have a thick skin,
and be able to take constructive criticism,
and learn who NOT to listen to.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by fiasco

I only ask because I don't understand (probably because I've never owned a pair of officiating pants) why the standard belt loop pants are frowned upon. In modern society, belt-less pants are reserved for women and senior citizens.

In officiating culture, there is a very real sense of style. It changes over time. For example, we used to wear shirts with a collar on them, like NFL refs. Now we wear V-neck shirts. We used to use lanyards that looped around the neck. Then we went to the Smitty lanyard almost exclusively. And now, the "noose" is coming back into style in some circles. And the style now, for most successful officials, is to wear beltless pants.

If you don't want to, you don't have to. But if you're going to strive to be a top official, you might as well start by looking the part.

Also part of the "look" is not to have facial hair or long hair. No jewelry or watch on the court either.

Welcome to the forum.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Then we went to the Smitty lanyard almost exclusively. And now, the "noose" is coming back into style in some circles. And the style now, for most successful officials, is to wear beltless pants.

We cannot compare the type of lanyard each official uses to what type of pants we wear. There has never been an abolition of wearing a neck lanyard to my knowledge ever. The reason people would wear the neck lanyard was because shirts had that little loop on them. Those are cool, but the loops have broken and ripped or the smitty lanyard for many became useless.

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Also part of the "look" is not to have facial hair or long hair. No jewelry or watch on the court either.

This is also not completely true. I have a mustache and have had one my entire career. I will say this, it seems like it is much more acceptable for African-Americans to wear mustaches rather than other races of people. There are several D1 and NBA Officials that happen to be African-American and wear a mustache. It is not acceptable in most circles to wear a full beard. Having said that, at the HS level and below, I see more facial hair than I ever do when working college or watching other high levels of basketball. Also it is acceptable to wear a wedding ring. But wearing a necklace that can be seen or a watch is not usually acceptable, but I do see officials wearing them from time to time. Funny thing is you usually do not see this from officials that are used to working deep in the post season or work any college ball.

Peace

[Junker]

A lot of this is personal preference. I don't wear any jewlery, no facial hair, and no tatoos showing (that one was coming soon). As a new official, look around at the good officials in the area. If they aren't doing some of these things, you might want to consider that a good model for you. Other than that, all advice so far has been sound. One nugget not mentioned is that as the new guy, always offer to buy the first round after the game.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

We cannot compare the type of lanyard each official uses to what type of pants we wear. There has never been an abolition of wearing a neck lanyard to my knowledge ever.

Nor has there ever been an abolition on belted pants. The situation is exactly the same. It's a question of style. If 95% of D1 officials suddenly went back to belted pants next season, so would most of the rest of us. This is exactly what happened with pleats and the new wide-stripe shirt. The lanyard is exactly the same kind of situation. Pure style.

it seems like it is much more acceptable for African-Americans to wear mustaches rather than other races of people.

Agreed. But even more acceptable is not to have any facial hair at all.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

This is also not completely true. I have a mustache and have had one my entire career. I will say this, it seems like it is much more acceptable for African-Americans to wear mustaches rather than other races of people. There are several D1 and NBA Officials that happen to be African-American and wear a mustache. It is not acceptable in most circles to wear a full beard.
Peace

I have heard this directly from the mouth of a veteran D1 official. It is accepted for African-Americans to wear a mustache. I would say the same thing applies for African-American female officials having tightly wound corn-rows or braids (I know one who did this and I asked her if her supervisors objected), I doubt a White female official would be allowed to show up looking like Bo Derek in the move 10. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just saying that it is.

Being that I am half-Black/half-White, I don't know which set of rules apply to me.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by fiasco

I understand your officiating pants are beltless. I'm asking about your everyday pants. Or do you wear your officiating pants to work, etc?

I only ask because I don't understand (probably because I've never owned a pair of officiating pants) why the standard belt loop pants are frowned upon. In modern society, belt-less pants are reserved for women and senior citizens.

Frankly that is a weird question to me.

I do not wear knickers anytime in my regular life but that is what you wear during a football game if you are officiating.

This is not modern society we are talking about. Officiating in a particular sport is what we are actually discussing. You wear what is part of the uniform or looks like other officials at other levels. You do not see NBA Officials wearing a belt. You do not see NCAA officials wearing a belt. Frankly I cannot ever think of a single time when I have seen an football official or baseball umpire wear an adjustable hat, but you see people all the time wear baseball hats that are adjustable (I know I have a few in my closet).

You want to look like an official. You are not going out to work or what you wear when you are hanging out. I do not shine my shoes the same way in my regular life, but that is what is expected. So you do what is expected and what makes you look professional or you allow others to judge you negatively.

Peace

[fiasco]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

This is not modern society we are talking about. Officiating in a particular sport is what we are actually discussing. You wear what is part of the uniform or looks like other officials at other levels.

Perfect. This is the clarification I was looking for. I try to pay attention to officials when I watched games, but I have to confess I've never paid attention to belts or lack thereof. Thus my confusion.

Thanks for clarifying and thanks for the warm welcome (most of you )