Letter to the editor re: NBA officiating article and my response

[grunewar]

I may get published too……but, it may not be what you think.

July 2009, REFEREE Magazine, page 21, Respect, Please. The magazine makes a big “ta do” about paying respects to our Nation’s flag, which I am all for of course, but then provides the wrong guidance (shocker).

The article states, “The umpires should stand at attention, with their left hand by their side and their right hand holding their hat over their heart (see PlayPic).”

While this is what most people believe to be correct (Mythbuster Billy?) and do, it is incorrect.

The correct verbiage should be something like, “Men who are wearing a hat should remove it and with their right hand hold the hat over their shoulder. The right HAND, not the hat, should rest over the heart. Placing the right hand on the left side of the breast, covering the heart, shows our love for the Flag and all it stands for.”

Same should be said for officials of any kind.

(Note - I don’t truly know if there is a distinction for women, but everything I’ve seen talks specifically about men removing headgear. Sorry.)

As Billy Joel once wrote:

Get it right the first time
That's the main thing
I can't afford to let it pass
Get it right the next time
That's not the same thing
Gonna make the first time last.

Once you tell/show people bad habits, it's hard to undo em.

Just a pet peeve.
Off soapbox, carry on!