Protective Gear Really Needed?

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by Sharpshooternes

Can someone give me the rules reference for the protective padding and such? I missed it somewhere. I thought the only one who could wear padding was the backboard.

NFHS 3-5-2 probably deals with it best:

Guards, casts and braces must meet the following guidelines:

a. A guard, cast or brace made of a hard and unyielding substance, such as, but not limited to, leather, plaster, plastic or metal shall not be worn on the elbow, hand, finger/thumb, wrist or forearm; even though covered with soft padding.

b. Hard and unyielding items (guards, casts, braces, etc.) on the upper arm or shoulder must be padded with a closed-cell, slow-recovery foam padding no less than ½" thick.

c. Knee and ankle braces which are unaltered from the manufacturer's original design/production are permitted and do not require any additional padding/covering.

d. A protective face mask may be worn and made of hard material, but must be worn molded to the face with no protrusions.

e. Must be worn for medical reasons.

There really isn’t anything specific to elbow or knee pads. The generic concern is whatever a player wears can’t be a danger to anyone or provide an unfair advantage to the person wearing the padding. Basically if the rules don’t specifically say a player can’t wear something – or that a player has to wear something a specific way – then they can.