Rule 3-5-3d

[IREFU2]

Is there any restrictions on the colors? These girls are now wearing the rubberband like headbands and they are currently being called hair restraints. But they sit above the forehead and on the hair. There was some discussion among us at a scrimmage today wondering and we can find a ruling in the rule book about the color being uniform or the same color of the jersey....input??

Originally Posted by IREFU2

Is there any restrictions on the colors? These girls are now wearing the rubberband like headbands and they are currently being called hair restraints. But they sit above the forehead and on the hair. There was some discussion among us at a scrimmage today wondering and we can find a ruling in the rule book about the color being uniform or the same color of the jersey....input??

No limitation on color. However, some of these "bands" have gotton thicker and made of soething other than rubber. At some point you might be able to call it a headband and then color applies.

Why worry about that when some girls HS teams have one green sock and one red sock during christmas, when their uniform is black. Legal too.

[Nevadaref]

I'll point you to this thread.

Hair Control Devices and Headbands

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by Ralph

Why worry about that when some girls HS teams have one green sock and one red sock during christmas, when their uniform is black. Legal too.

Amen! I'll never understand why some officials go looking for trouble. As long as it's a rubber, cloth, or elastic band and is actually serving as a hair restraint, then it's okay by me. To rehash a story I know I've told on the forum in the past...I was calling a girls varsity game a couple years ago and all the girls on one team were wearing different colored/designed bikini tops under their jerseys (and no, I'm still not a perv, you could see them through the shirts). One of my partners wanted to make them change because they didn't match or some goofy reason. My other partner and I told him he was out of his mind if he did that and also totally on his own...he wanted us to tell high school girls to change their underwear Why create headaches for yourself???

[IREFU2]

Originally Posted by Corndog89

Amen! I'll never understand why some officials go looking for trouble. As long as it's a rubber, cloth, or elastic band and is actually serving as a hair restraint, then it's okay by me. To rehash a story I know I've told on the forum in the past...I was calling a girls varsity game a couple years ago and all the girls on one team were wearing different colored/designed bikini tops under their jerseys (and no, I'm still not a perv, you could see them through the shirts). One of my partners wanted to make them change because they didn't match or some goofy reason. My other partner and I told him he was out of his mind if he did that and also totally on his own...he wanted us to tell high school girls to change their underwear Why create headaches for yourself???

Umm, not looking for trouble at all. Just getting clarification. Thanks for all of the replies....

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by IREFU2

Umm, not looking for trouble at all. Just getting clarification. Thanks for all of the replies....

Sorry, you're right. Just carried away by one of my pet peeves...OOO playing fashion police . Mea culpa...

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Corndog89

Sorry, you're right. Just carried away by one of my pet peeves...OOO playing fashion police . Mea culpa...

I'm so sick of this cop-out response. No personal offense to the poster, but to anyone who shares that opinion, I have to speak out.

1. When you are hired as a game official, you have a job to do. That job is enforce the rules. You don't have the right to elect to not enforce certain rules because you don't care for them.

2. So you don't like being the "fashion police." Well, tough. Then go work some rec league what Old School and MeRef in which the players can wear whatever this wish. Or go do that and1 tour. This is HS basketball and there are people who sit on national and state committees and write these regulations for the betterment of the game and attempt to keep the attention where it belongs--on the skills of the players. They know a heck of a lot more about what is proper for HS basketball than you do.

3. Are there other rules which you choose also to disregard? Perhaps you don't want to be the "traveling police" or the "OOB police." What about the "3 seconds gestopo?" Perhaps you don't want to be the "language police" so you allow the players to swear like sailors. Do you also not enforce bench decorum because you don't want to get a reputation as the "coach police?" One can say this about a number of aspects of the game. Uniforms is not unique.

4. If you think that its different with uniforms because they don't have anything to do with the conduct of the game, then ask yourself what you would think of a referee who didn't wear a striped shirt and black shoes, but instead showed up for the game a red T-shirt and colorful running shoes? He states that he will call the game just the same and will stand out from the teams since they aren't wearing red, so what's the big deal. Why are we worried about the "referee fashion police?"

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by IREFU2

Is there any restrictions on the colors? These girls are now wearing the rubberband like headbands and they are currently being called hair restraints. But they sit above the forehead and on the hair. There was some discussion among us at a scrimmage today wondering and we can find a ruling in the rule book about the color being uniform or the same color of the jersey....input??

In NCAA, any material that goes completely around the head is a "hair restraint" and must meet the legal requirements.

In FED, the restrictions only apply to "headbands" -- generally the "2-inch wide, sweat absorbing material". It specifically does not apply to pre-wrap.

Very popular this year is a 1/4-inch wide rubbery-material device with a dozen or so NIKE logos on it. I'd like to see that banned, or at least a clarification from the NFHS.

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

I'm so sick of this cop-out response. No personal offense to the poster, but to anyone who shares that opinion, I have to speak out.

1. When you are hired as a game official, you have a job to do. That job is enforce the rules. You don't have the right to elect to not enforce certain rules because you don't care for them.

2. So you don't like being the "fashion police." Well, tough. Then go work some rec league what Old School and MeRef in which the players can wear whatever this wish. Or go do that and1 tour. This is HS basketball and there are people who sit on national and state committees and write these regulations for the betterment of the game and attempt to keep the attention where it belongs--on the skills of the players. They know a heck of a lot more about what is proper for HS basketball than you do.

3. Are there other rules which you choose also to disregard? Perhaps you don't want to be the "traveling police" or the "OOB police." What about the "3 seconds gestopo?" Perhaps you don't want to be the "language police" so you allow the players to swear like sailors. Do you also not enforce bench decorum because you don't want to get a reputation as the "coach police?" One can say this about a number of aspects of the game. Uniforms is not unique.

4. If you think that its different with uniforms because they don't have anything to do with the conduct of the game, then ask yourself what you would think of a referee who didn't wear a striped shirt and black shoes, but instead showed up for the game a red T-shirt and colorful running shoes? He states that he will call the game just the same and will stand out from the teams since they aren't wearing red, so what's the big deal. Why are we worried about the "referee fashion police?"

Nevada...

Wow...I feel properly chastised. Of course I enforce the uniform...and all other...rules. Just yesterday, in fact, in a boys HS JV scrimmage I sent a kid off because his hair band had a small metal piece that held it together.

My point is that the hair restraint rule (3.5.3d.) is very precise: "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." That's it. Not even any Case Book situations (at least in the 2007-08 CB). So, if a kid wants to wear a bright pink and green rubber band with Nike logos all over it (as Bob Jenkins noted) anywhere on his/her head, as long as it's controlling the hair and is obviously not a headband then why would I even want to address it? If the apparently omniscient rules committee wants to change it, then I will enforce what they write.

That's my point...trying to enforce anything beyond the specific hair restraint rule would be an example of being the "Fashion Police". It would be like an official thinking the jump stop is a bad rule and therefore call it travelling whenever he sees it. That would be an example of the "Travelling Police", not someone who refuses to call travelling. In my example of the bikini-wearing girls team, there's no rule on bras for players, yet my misguided partner didn't like it so he wanted to enforce a non-existent rule. He was trying to act as the "Fashion Police". That's why I say why ask for trouble when there is nothing illegal being done??

And finally, just because someone or some group of people sit on a committee, that doesn't necessarily mean "They know a heck of a lot more about what is proper for HS basketball than you [I] do." They have a job they agree to do ...that doesn't automatically give them the wisdom of Soloman and make everyone else ignorant, provincial boobs. If so, there would never be any reason to change any of the original rules...they would already be perfect

[truerookie]

[QUOTE=Corndog89]Nevada...

Wow...I feel properly chastised. Of course I enforce the uniform...and all other...rules. Just yesterday, in fact, in a boys HS JV scrimmage I sent a kid off because his hair band had a small metal piece that held it together.

My point is that the hair restraint rule (3.5.3d.) is very precise: "Rubber, cloth or elastic bands may be used to control hair.

agree, What about tape on the hair? Would that fall under 3.5.3e

[Corndog89]

Originally Posted by truerookie

My point is that the hair restraint rule (3.5.3d.) is very precise: "Rubber, cloth or elastic bands may be used to control hair.

agree, What about tape on the hair? Would that fall under 3.5.3e

I guess tape could fall under 3.5.3e as a head decoration depending on how it was used, but I would refer to the Nov 2006 clarification from the link Nevadaref provided earlier in this thread:

Basketball Administrator,

Please find attached a clarification regarding the wearing of hair-control devices. Feel free to pass this information along to constituents within your state. This item will also be posted on the NFHS Website.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Mary

Mary Struckhoff
NFHS Assistant Director
Basketball Rules Editor/National Interpreter

Hair-Control Devices and Headbands Clarified (11/16/06)

There have been numerous questions recently relating to the legality of certain hair-control devices. Players may wear rubber bands, scrunchies, pre wrap and narrow, multi-colored elastic bands to hold their hair back (3-5-3d). These items are not considered headbands (3-5-3a) and therefore do not fall under the new headband rule. These items do not have to be the same color as the uniform or white, they can be of any color, they do not have to be a single color and they are not subject to the logo restrictions in 3-6.

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).

Ms Struckhoff specifically identified pre-wrap (but not tape), scrunchies and narrow, multi-colored elastic bands as acceptable hair restraint alternatives. This clarification was made a year ago, and although the Rules Committee made Uniforms the #1 POE for 2007-08, hair restraint devices were not among the uniform issues specified nor were these additional devices added to 3.5.3d in the 2007-08 Rules Book. This tells me that the all-wise committee decided that the hair restraint rule as written is clear enough.

Therefore, the deciding factor on whether or not a hair-restraint device can/cannot be worn must rest on the referee's judgement: Rule 3.5.1 - "The referee shall not permit any team member to wear equipment or apparel which, in his/her judgement, is dangerous or confusing to other players or is not appropriate." Is tape as a hair-restraint dangerous, confusing, or not appropriate? I guess only the R at any given game can determine that.

And ironically, using 3.5.1, I guess the R could rule bikini tops as inappropriate if he/she wanted to...and was ready to take the heat. Still, I ain't playing "Fashion Cop" and telling HS or college girls to change their underwear