Official's Facial Hair

[MajorCord]

Seeing Padgett's picture (if that is really him) brought this question to my mind. Do your official's associations have regulations concerning facial hair (women excluded )?

Around here, if you have facial hair, as in this picture, you don't get any varsity games. Just curious what your experiences are.

[Scooby]

No official rule that I know of.

[NewNCref]

Originally Posted by MajorCord

Seeing Padgett's picture (if that is really him) brought this question to my mind. Do your official's associations have regulations concerning facial hair (women excluded )?

Around here, if you have facial hair, as in this picture, you don't get any varsity games. Just curious what your experiences are.

In the association that I work in, it was put to the first-year officials this way. When you come to work a game, you are expected to look like a basketball official. That means obvious things like striped shirt, black pants, black shoes, etc. But it also means things like looking well kept. No bed head, no wrinkled clothes, and, generally no facial hair. If you show up to a game with a wrinkled pair of pants, you will not be kicked off it. It will in no way affect your ability to call the game. But it is something that will be noticed, maybe not by any players or coaches, but by an evaluator. It's just kind of an unspoken rule of the trade.

On a personal note, I have a beard every day of the year, except for basketball season. No one has ever told me during preseason meetings to shave, but I just always do. It may not help me get any varsity games, but it sure can't hurt.

[MichaelVA2000]

Originally Posted by NewNCref

On a personal note, I have a beard every day of the year, except for basketball season. No one has ever told me during preseason meetings to shave, but I just always do. It may not help me get any varsity games, but it sure can't hurt.

Do you officiate any other sports?

[JRutledge]

There is no hard and fast rule about facial hair, but there might be some personal preferences of a particular assignor. And for the record I see a lot of officials have facial hair work basketball. If you are African-American, facial hair is very common and accepted. I think this is a hang up of white people for some reason.

Peace

[tomegun]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

There is no hard and fast rule about facial hair, but there might be some personal preferences of a particular assignor. And for the record I see a lot of officials have facial hair work basketball. If you are African-American, facial hair is very common and accepted. I think this is a hang up of white people for some reason.

Peace

I think Rut is talking about mustaches in particular. If so, this is also an unwritten rule concerning officers in the Military. It isn't a bad thing for an African American to have a mustache, but sort of frowned upon for others. I don't know why this is; it seems kind of stupid to me.

As far as beards and officiating go, it isn't anything specific, but it is there. I think the same applies to certain hair styles too.

[Mark Padgett]

Gee, this guy had a mustache. BTW - his name is Dr. James Naismith. Seriously, since when did facial hair result in an inability to use good judgment?

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by tomegun

If so, this is also an unwritten rule concerning officers in the Military. .

Concur! Like the military and some jobs for that matter - facial hair is just frowned upon for whatever reason and it "goes without saying". But, we even talked about this at one of our Ref Association Mtgs. As I look around my Association, my work place and the corporate structure, it just doesn't happen. While I don't necessarily agree, I learned long ago, when it Rome.....

Besides, I look horrible/10 yrs older with a mustache and beard! blah!

[NewNCref]

Originally Posted by MichaelVA2000

Do you officiate any other sports?

Yes, softball.

[Adam]

Our assigner has a handle-bar mustache, and maybe two guys have goatees (one is African American, and one is caucasian).

I had a goatee a few games last year, but for the most part I'm clean shaven when I ref (I can't wear a goatee for more than a month at a time anyway due to Air Force regulations.)

[MichaelVA2000]

Originally Posted by NewNCref

Yes, softball.

Why are you not clean shaven for softball as you are for basketball?

[DonInKansas]

I've worn a goatee pretty much non-stop since I was 18(11 years now), and have never had it be an issue in officiating(baseball 10 years, basketball starting this year). Then again, I've never been part of an association, as there hasn't been any associations in the areas I've worked in.

[NewNCref]

Originally Posted by MichaelVA2000

Why are you not clean shaven for softball as you are for basketball?

For softball, I umpire with many guys with facial hair, and no one has ever said anything about it. For basketball, I can't think of many people with facial hair.

And JRut was right earlier. There are several African-American guys in our association, many of whom call varsity games, who have facial hair. This does just seem to be a hang-up of Caucasian persons.

[JoeTheRef]

Facial hair is like wearing glasses. It is a unwritten rule in our HS Association, you have either and you probably will only work sub-varsity games. In my College conferences, facial hair is definintely a no-no. Don't know about glasses, but I have yet to see any college official with glasses.

[JoeT]

Originally Posted by JoeTheRef

Facial hair is like wearing glasses. It is a unwritten rule in our HS Association, you have either and you probably will only work sub-varsity games. In my College conferences, facial hair is definintely a no-no. Don't know about glasses, but I have yet to see any college official with glasses.

I coached a game (HS varsity) last week where one official showed up late (after the scheduled start of the game,) had a Byron collar, and wore eyeglasses that looked like like the windshield on the space shuttle (as described by my assistant.) When he walked in, one of my assistants just looked at me and said (without smiling), "have fun."