Full Length Tights

[rickman5]

Originally Posted by Rich

If I can't tell with a quick look, then they're really long socks.

Yeah it's hard to distinguish between the two a lot of the time

[Wellmer]

We talked about this last night, as far as T Shirts under the jersey, can long sleeves be worn? The only thing I found in the rule book was that the sleeves had to be the same length? Anyone have a rule reference?

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by Wellmer

The only thing I found in the rule book was that the sleeves had to be the same length? Anyone have a rule reference?

That's all there is about sleeve length. Long sleeve shirts are legal.

[Wellmer]

That's what we went with since we couldn't find anything telling us otherwise.

[Welpe]

A good tenet to follow with NFHS rules is that which isn't illegal, is legal.

[egj13]

I have only see one player wearing the tights...it wasn't in a game I was calling but I do have that team this Friday night. He was out several games with knee issues and when he returned he was wearing them so I don't know if they are for medical or not. I will ask the coach and my partners on Friday though and knowing the coach he will flip a lid.

[OKREF]

I have seen them in probably half the games I have had. Kids see Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook wearing them and just have to wear them also.

[Scrapper1]

This is, in my opinion, a stupid rule. I can see reasons for a lot of the uniform/equipment rules, even if I don't like having to enforce them. But this one is just stupid. Why?

1) Wearing long pants instead of shorts is perfectly legal. Yet wearing long pants UNDER shorts is prohibited.

2) As others have already pointed out, the rules do not limit the length of socks (thank God!). So you can wear socks that extend up from the foot, past the knee, all the way up the thigh if you want. There's no way to tell just from looking at the player if s/he's wearing tights or very high socks. There's no reason to treat these differently.

3) Leg sleeves are becoming more popular, particularly in the college game. And like socks, these go over the knee and onto the thigh, so that it's impossible to tell if they are sleeves or tights. Yet these, too, are perfectly legal. Why are they treated differently???

I'm submitting a rule change proposal to the NCAA to make tights and leg sleeves legal, as long as they are a single solid color similar to the dominant color of the game pants. No idea if it will get any attention, but I'm hopeful.

[Camron Rust]

This inconsistency is just silly...

Arms: any length sleeve OK. Compression sleeve OK only if it is medically approved and only a permitted color (and matching).

Legs: Only leg lengths shorter than the shorts OK, Compression sleeves unregulated, any length, any color, no matching requirements.

Why the differences????

I think they should be consistent and make them all legal (any length tights/undershirts, compression sleeves OK too) but keep some color requirements....but not necessarily entirely matching.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

This inconsistency is just silly...

Arms: any length sleeve OK. Compression sleeve OK only if it is medically approved and only a permitted color (and matching).

Why the differences????

You want inconsistencies? Compression sleeves are the arms are illegal in football but medically legal in basketball.

Oh, wait! If the compression sleeve has a pad in it, it then becomes legal!

Tell me how that makes any sense at all.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Wellmer

That's what we went with since we couldn't find anything telling us otherwise.

Legal in HS, illegal in college unless accompanied by a medical waiver.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Long sleeve shirts are legal.

I had this a couple of times this year.

Now, I can think of a few reasons why someone would wear this (skin condition mostly), but overall, probably just like a sleeve - look at me!

[Rich]

Originally Posted by grunewar

I had this a couple of times this year.

Now, I can think of a few reasons why someone would wear this (skin condition mostly), but overall, probably just like a sleeve - look at me!

Or he/she could be covering up tattoos. (Could be a condition the coach put on the player.)

[Adam]

Also religious reasons.

[JetMetFan]

My headache is that much larger because boys (NFHS) and girls (modified NCAAW) work under two different codes in NYC. The only positive is I end up reading rule books prior to each game.

Keeping the whole setup straight makes my head spin. Then you add in fellow officials who don't enforce the rules - including some of my partners who've said "I'm not dealing with that" - and the whole thing becomes a mess.