I've always wanted to try that. My dog keeps encouraging me too but I keep telling him that an officials job is not to upstage the game or coaches knowledge and he knew more about the game than most coaches :D

I really don't get the controversy over facial hair. It actually can be a benefit when officiating. Do you really think any coach is going to argue with this guy? BTW - that's me when I was just starting out.

http://vectors.usc.edu/issues/04_iss.../werewolf2.jpg

A word about unwritten rules: If it is worthy of being a rule, it should be worthy of being written somewhere. Facial hair is a negative thing in this instance because ........? Even so, if it is not allowed, tell me. Spell it out. You can be an official and have a card but you will not get varsity games. You can call all season and get rave reviews from EVERYONE, (yeah, right) but you cannot call in the playoffs. You can call all through the playoffs but not the state finals.

If you give me a state final to call, it will be over in a couple of hours. I have had a beard since 1980. Given the choice, I think I know what I would do.

If it's written, then it's also guaranteed that some clown with a beard who can't referee a lick is gonna file a lawsuit for follicular discrimination because he wasn't given a state final.

It may be old school. It sureashell may not be reasonable. But it <b>is</b> the standard across the country.

I wonder how the laces being on the outside of the ball like that affected dribbling.

The sharp pointy parts could be problematic.

Reminds me of a joke.

A 16 year old boy with shoulder length hair went to his father, the local preacher, asking him if he could get his driver's license.

His father said, "Only if you cut your hair."

The boy said, "But dad, Jesus had long hair."

To which his father replied, "Yes, and he walked everywhere he went." :D

Oldies But Goodies
 

From Jurassic Referee: "Aw geeze, now you done it. He's gonna post the penguin's entire conversation"

What's black and white, black and white, black and white?

1) a penguin rolling down a hill.
2) a nun rolling down a hill.
3) a zebra roling down a hill.
4) BillyMac, Jurassic Referee, or an other basketball official, rolling down a hill.

What's black and white and red (read) all over?

1) a newspaper.
2) an embarrased penguin.
3) an embarrased nun.
4) an embarrased zebra.
5) an embarrased BillyMac, Jurassic Referee, or an other basketball official.

At the camp I went to this summer, one guy showed up looking like he just got out of bed after sleeping for 4 days. Which meant about a 4 day growth of beard. Thought for sure since it was Friday night, that Saturday morning, it would be gone. Nope. Same thing Sunday. As he was leaving, he told me he got the strangest comment from the evaluators suggesting he should shave his 'beard'. Who am I to 'one-up' an evaluator at a camp?

BS. I do NOT have trouble seeing as long as I'm wearing glasses! That's what makes it so stupid!

It is a societal issue that makes it a perception issue. Society is stupid.

Rita

I honestly do not know what society has to do with this at all. You are an official that expected to see, run and hold your composer at all times. When you miss something wearing glasses just adds to the scrutiny even if it is not a real issue. It is really not that big of a deal, but you do not see officials on TV wearing glasses and it is not because society says so. It is because they want to take away one other thing to call into question their competence or ability. It would be no different if you had a college professor teaching classes without a college degree. It kind of calls into question your ability to do the job right or wrong.

Peace

Yes it would. That's an absurd analogy.

If you don't have a college degree, you're not qualified to teach college classes.

If you wear glasses, you're still qualified to referee basketball games. It just looks bad.

A better analogy would be a college professor wearing bermuda shorts and a tank top to class. Doesn't make him any less qualified, but I'm sure it would be frowned upon and damage his credibility.

Our state's director of officials told a story at a banquet that I was at, and he told us that he showed up to a playoff game as well as an official that he has selected. The official had a face full of hair and he gave him the options of going in the locker room and shaving it off or going home.

You're absolutely right. If I'm WEARING glasses, that means that my vision has been corrected so that it's closer to 20/20 than that of most people who don't wear corrective lenses. If I'm NOT wearing glasses, how does the crowd know that I shouldn't be? How do they know I'm not missing a contact lens? Or forgot to put them in? I understand the perception, but it is stupid. "Perception" or "perceived credibility" doesn't make it right. There was a time when you didn't see women officiating games on TV. A fan could infer at the high school level that women are inferior officials. Should that have stopped women from officiating in state tournaments?

It *shouldn't* matter, but it does. You (we) can (and should) work to change the perception, but in the meantime, each official must decide whether s/he should change himself / herself so the perception doesn't apply.

The "it" in the first sentence can be glasses, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, wrinkled clothes, unshined shoes, ....

I've been following this thread for the last couple of days for entertainment sake, not realizing it may apply to me. I have sideburns. My wife kiboshed my thoughts of muttonchops but nevertheless I do have healthy sideburns. I like them. I have had them 25 years now. I'm keeping them.

last night a varsity official commented on them and their "healthiness". Is it gonna hold me back. Doubt it. I'm 45 so anything beyond HS is probably outta reach, and I'm not that interested in doing the footwork to go beyond HS.

I show up 45 minutes early for my games. I wear a nice , clean sports coat,tie,pressed shirt and polished shoes. My uniform is always pressed and clean. I am polite and have social skills. I hustle. I move closer than the division line when I'm Trail. I make a full faith effort on all my games to do an above average job. I keep it professional. I have a positive attitude.

If "they" are willing to ignore all that cause I have "healthy" sideburns "they" are the ones with the issue. "They" were probably gonna find something wrong with me anyway.

I'm keeping my sideburns even if I have to work Girls Frosh games the rest of my life.