Juulie - you've been reading what I laughingly call "my mind". BTW - they can wear earrings if they take their ears off before play. I told a kid that once and he (yes, he - this is the 21st century) went over and asked his coach how he could do that. :p

So, Barry Manilow CDs make for a great gag gift in the Padgett household?

I had a 13/14 f player show up last year with newly braided hair with lots of shells on the ends.....when I informed her she couldn't play, her coach and mom went absolutely nuts.

Thankfully, the league backed me.......do you know how long that takes and how much it costs?

Oh well, gotta do it outa season I suppose! :)

I wonder what the liability is on something like that, if you set aside a rule like that and a girl catches a shell in the eye and loses an eye...I'm not about to find out, but I wonder...

That someone is wrong. Here is the NFHS rule plus the accompanying play rulings:

3-5-7 . . . Jewelry is prohibited. Religious and medical-alert medals are not considered jewelry. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical-alert medal must be taped and may be visible.


3.5 SITUATION B: The officials are on the court prior to the game observing the team warm-ups. One official notices that a member of Team A is wearing a decorative necklace. RULING: The official should inform the team member to remove the jewelry immediately. Upon compliance, the team member may continue to warm up with his or her teammates and may start the game without penalty.

3.5.6 SITUATION A: Substitute A6 is beckoned and enters the court to replace A1. A6 is wearing: (a) compression shorts below the game pants which extend below the knees; (b) cut-off jeans extending below the game pants; or (c) jewelry. RULING: The items in (a), (b) and (c) are illegal and A6 will not be allowed to participate while wearing the items. No penalty is involved. A6 simply cannot participate until the illegal items are removed. (3-5-7)

2007-08 Major Editorial Changes
3-5-3d Clarified that hard items worn on the head are prohibited.

2007-08 NFHS Rules Book
3-5-3d Rubber, cloth or elastic bands may be used to control hair. Hard items, including, but not limited to, beads, barrettes and bobby pins, are prohibited.

Yes - they would make me gag. :o

Equipment ??
 

Players may not participate while wearing jewelry. Religious medals or medical alert medals are not considered jewelry. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical alert medal must be taped and may be visible. Headbands and wristbands must be the predominant color of the jersey or white. When wearing headbands and/or wristbands, all players must wear the same color and wear the items as intended. Only a single item may be worn on the head and/or on each wrist. Sweatbands must be worn below the elbow and be a maximum of four inches. A single headband, if worn, must be no wider than two inches. Rubber or cloth elastic bands may be used to control hair. Undershirts must be similar in color to the jersey and shall not have frayed or ragged edges. State associations may on an individual basis, allow a player to participate while wearing a head covering, if it is worn for medical or religious reasons, provided that the covering is not abrasive, hard, or dangerous, and is attached in such a way that it is highly unlikely to come off during play. Written documentation should be available.

Maybe we should start including earrings in the common basketball myths.

But he's a 2-time Grammy winner!
 

http://www.barrynet.com/images/barrytimesthree.jpg

Gee - from "Steroid" on the left to "Adnoid" on the right. Zito just doesn't belong here. :p

The usual jewelry argument seems to be that the ears were just pierced and the earring must stay in for some amount of time, so could we please tape the ears up and let the kid play. While this is a legitimate concern, and the earring could be considered medical in nature (it is being used to prevent infection and keep the piercing opened) it would be prohibited anyway, similar to a cast or metal brace.

Two questions: If the kid comes in with taped up ears and there is no visible sign of jewelry, do you ask if he/she is wearing earrings, then prohibit the player from participating if the answer is yes and allow it if the answer is no?

If there were some soft material that could be inserted into the opening to keep it from closing and prevent infection, would that be permitted? I'm not sure if such a material exists, but I sense a marketing opportunity here if it does.

If someone comes in with taped up ears, yeah that's the first thing I'm going to find out if there are earrings underneath....and I don't know what type of "soft" material you would put in there because the rule is for the player's safety as much as anything else...seems like a soft material could just as easily get snagged and ripped out as anything else...

I recently had a player and his mother come up to me before a scrimmage to show me these new earings he had on. Well at least I never seen them before, They were called safety studs .... The posts on the back were completely enclosed by a cover so the earing couldn't come out of the ear or pierce the players neck or scratch any other player. I showed my partner, talked to both coaches and got the mother to sign off on liability and let the kid play in the scrim. I personally have never seen any basketball player get hurt from earings. Football is another matter had a kid get a hoop ripped out of his ear when his helmet got ripped off his head.