Shorts ?
 

I didn't touch this one with a ten foot pole in the game but it made me think afterward...

Team A -- has underarmor shorts... one logo on the left leg... about half the team roll the waistband so the interior waistband which has 4 UA logos and the name underarmor all around their waist.

Would you allow it?



Rulebook says this -- ART. 5

Uniform pants/skirts shall adhere to the following:

a. Only one visible manufacturer's logo/trademark/reference is permitted. See 3-6-2 for size requirements.

I've seen this a few times this year and I'm not worrying about it. The outside of the shorts don't have the logos, and there isn't a rule against rolling your waistband down. Don't pick boogers.

Would generally not be allowed here.

This is certainly one rule in which I'm not going to nit-pick. It's one thing if somebody complains, but I'm not going to create a situation.

Some of the players in the game following mine, last night, had rolled down their waistbands. It seems to be the latest fad in the "look-at-me, I'm special" thought process . . .

Or could it be that the shorts were too long and rolling the waistband is the easiest way to make them a little shorter?

Only if the players involved are from the John Stockton era of short shorts.:)

Someone did complain here once. The answer was roll them down one more roll. Problem solved.

It all depends on how your state / area interprets "properly" in 3-3-5 "A player not wearing the pants / skirt properly ... shall be directed to leave the game."

Well, if everyone is doing it, they are no longer special. ;)

In Other Words, Don't Be A Plumber ...
 

Freddy? Is that you?

No freddy here. :)

I see this as a trickle-down from NCAA-W games to girls' HS games. I'm not addressing it unless directed to do so.

Do Not Pass Go ...
 

The day that I start checking out the labels on high school girls shorts is the day that I ask you guys to raise bail money for me.

Our State Interpreter says shorts worn properly means waist band is to be rolled up and one logo means one logo. We have been instructed to make them roll them up. I hate being the fashion police but that is what the State wants.

I have seen this frequently in the past with girls HS games and always left it alone.

This is the first year I've noticed it in boys games. Last week I had a game and as the R, I jokingly said to the U2 to tell #24 to "stop wearing his shorts like a girl and unroll his waist band." To my surprise he actually told the kid to unroll the waist band, minus the "like a girl part."

The next night I noticed it on another player and talked about it with partners but decided against saying anything to the player. Of course the opposing coach, a known PITA, says, "it's not a big deal but are #3's shorts legal? The white showing on his shorts is kinda distracting." I just had the player tuck his string in but did not make him unroll them.

In both instances the logos weren't showing as I've often seen with the underarmour unis. Based on interpretation I suppose one could make a stink out of the excessive logos but I'm not going to be a plumber here unless instructed otherwise.

And part of it may be look at me stuff but for some it's also a matter of making the waist band tighter.

Moving Along Folks, Nothing To See Here ...
 

Had it tonight in a girls varsity game. Right, or wrong, I ignored it.

Unfortunately, officials are required to be uniform police. You MUST notice these things in pregame warm ups.

But Judge, I Was Just Looking For A Label On A Rolled Up Waistband ...
 

Nothing like checking out a label above girls rear end during warmups while the P.A. system is playing Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines to catch the attention of the police officer standing in the corner of the gymnasium. Don't worry. We'll set up a collection to bail you out. Mark Padgett will be the treasurer.

2-4 ART. 5 . . . Verify with the head coach, prior to each contest, that his/her team member’s uniforms and equipment are legal and will be worn properly, and that all participants will exhibit proper sporting behavior throughout the contest.

If we see it, we fix it, unroll the waistband, and wear them the way they were manufactured.

3-4 ART. 5 . . . A player not wearing the pants/skirt properly and above the hips and/or a player not tucking in a team jersey (front and back) designed to be worn inside the pants/skirt, shall be directed to leave the game as in 3-3-4; a charged time-out shall not alter this requirement.

To say that you MUST notice these things in warm ups is a pointless statement. For one, these things cannot always be noticed when players are wearing warm ups over their uniforms. Secondly, in many instances it is not clear that they are in violation of the rules. Third, there are assignors out there who do not want you looking to enforce this type of thing.

Nowhere does it explicitly say that rolling the waistband down is not wearing the shorts properly. And to instruct someone to "wear them the way they were manufactured." Well that is all subjective.

Many girls and women in NFHS, NCAA, and the WNBA roll the sleeves on their jerseys to make it almost like a halter top. Are you going to instruct them to wear there uniforms they way they were manufactured and insist they unroll the sleeves as well?

With all due respect, there are plenty of areas of subjective/selective areas of enforcement in the books, depending on where one officiates, and this is one of them - at the HS and even lower college levels.

Yup. Exactly this. Verify with the COACH that the uniforms are legal and will be worn properly. That's all.

Why... I've already done what the rule requires - I've verified with the COACH that they will be worn properly. Rule doesn't say anything about us examining their short area and checking to see what the proper way is to wear each article of clothing.

Who Wears Short Shorts ??? (The Royal Teens, 1958)
 

Checked with a female colleague at the laboratory today who played high school basketball a few years ago. BEAREF is correct.