Pink Night....Cancer Awareness
 

I have a varsity game coming up thats breast cancer awareness night. Do uniform changes need to be approved my the state (IL). What about a pink ball; undershirts and all the pink gear? What about the officials? Should this be discussed pregame? What part of my uniform could be changed? Email from school says pink gear optional.

Real Men Wear . . . Stripes
 

Our state allows us to do the pink thing, leaving the extent to which we participate up to us. Three pink lanyards in the bag when/in case they're needed.
Not the most expensive route, but it's the thought that counts.

We were told the only thing that was a NOGO for teams was a pink ball. Other than that, they need to be uniform, but have some slack.

As long as all the officials have pink whistles, that's what we go with here as a crew. If one doesn't have it, we go without.

for this night, declare "pink" to be one of each school's colors.

Go ahead and wear pink whistles.

Apply the rest of the rules (if they wear pink jerseys, then any undershirts must be pink, etc.) No pink ball.

Check with you local "powers that be". Different places allow different things. Here, we do the pink whistles. The only thing that I have heard of that wasn't allowed was a pink basketball.

At the expense of being flamed...I totally don't get the committment to pink. Is there anyone in the entire US that is not aware of breast cancer? As someone who falls into a group who had/has a different life threating situation let me assure you...if your condition isn't breast cancer the vast majority of the country could not care less about you. There are no less than38 different colors/patterns associated with disease awarness. What is next? Tartan uniforms for stroke awareness? Teal for Interstitial Cystitis and Bladder Pain Syndrome? Puzzle patterns for Autism? Periwinkle for Anorexia/Bulimia?

I'll get off my soap box now...

Tax Deductible ...
 

Not only do we use a pink whistle, but we also donate 25% of our game fee to the American Cancer Society. With 325 guys on our local board, and most participating, we usually give the American Cancer Society a generous donation.

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.47832...65934&pid=15.1

One of our local conferences used purple last year as recognition of all cancers.

Sorry...I think that is sad. More than three times the number of people who die from breast cancer die from lung/bronchial cancer. Every 33 seconds someone dies of cardiovascular disease. Yet no special nights for those two. Since the vast majority of breast cancer victims are women...are we pandering to them or do they just have a better lobby?

What Color is This Physical Malady?
 

Not to fret. Local school here having a "Fight Eating Disorder" night this coming week.
No joke.
Not sure how to dress for that one. :confused:

Periwinkle...that is the color for eating disorders.

Sad ???
 

Our checks are written out to the American Cancer Society. They are not earmarked for just breast cancer research, and treatment, but for treatment of all cancers, including lung/bronchial cancer. It's IAABO officials versus cancer, not IAABO officials versus breast cancer.

My father died from leukemia, and every time I wear my pink whistle, and write out my annual check, I think of him.

And, today, at work, I contributed to a colleague's children who are both participating in Jump Rope Marathon Fundraiser for The American Heart Association.

And I annually donate to a neighbor who collects for Autism Spectrum Research.

And I annually donate to another neighbor, and another colleague, for the March of Dimes, one of my favorite charities. My daughter, who was born at less than two pounds, who spent two years doing HIV AIDS research in London, and at Harvard, funded by a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant, will graduate from medical school in four months. She was the size of a very small chicken when she was born, and spent two months in the hospital before finally coming home.

I can't donate to every good cause, but I can do my part for some of them, especially those that are near, and dear to my heart, and the hearts of my family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues.

What you do is not sad...it is commendable. However, you said "We..." when pointing out the 25% contribution. It is sad that others are forced to contribute to a particular cause. Yes...I said forced. I would be willing to bet if any official refused to use the pink whistle or give the amount they would be hard pressed to get games.

You cannot force someone to be charitable. If I HAVE to give some group money it is not charity.

Besides, my point was that everyone bends over backwards to "support" breast cancer awareness (pink is their color) but ignores many diseases that are far more fatal. In my opinion they are just being politically correct.

Take the NFL for example. You may be shocked to know that very little goes to cancer research from their pink October. Imagine the good that could be done in research if the NFL simply added up how much was spent league wide on pink towels, gloves, shoes, tape, patches, goal post pads, shirts, hats, uniforms (for the pink trim), etc. and simply donated half the money.

ETA...From SI; The league uses the color on its jerseys and other apparel in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research, but according to the report, the breakdown of how the money from sales of the apparel gets distributed is as follows: 50 percent to the retailer; 37.5 percent to the manufacturer; 8.1 percent to the American Cancer Society for research; 3.24 percent to the administration at the Society; and 1.25 percent to the NFL.

The NFL is not an example at all...

Roger Goodell made roughly $29 million last year.

The NFL contributed only $2.5 million (or thereabouts) to charity. And the vast majority of that money went to the Hall of Fame.

A Bet ??? You Lose ...
 

And you would be wrong. We all get "free" pink whistles (our local board pays for them) whether we make a donation, or not. The only person who sees our donation, or lack of, is our treasurer, and he doesn't keep a "tally" of who donates, or who doesn't, but simply puts the checks in an envelope and sends them to the American Cancer Society. Our assignment commissioner never sees a list of who donates, or who doesn't, because there is no such list.

Raising "awareness" is not the same as raising money, and it's not supposed to be. In an ideal world, raising awareness raises more money from other sources (fans, vendors, etc) that don't funnel through the NFL than the NFL spends on the pink stuff. The same complaint is often made about athletes who start a foundation to raise money: Why not just donate the $1 million to your cause rather than setting up and funding a foundation to raise money?

I know some folks here gave you answers, but I think you should also check with your state's ruling body.

Coaches vs Cancer 4 or 5 years ago. A crew I was working with did the pink whistle and lanyard thing (no lanyard for me thank you;)), and the shirt in the link below. It was a great time and we all donated our checks to event. This year my association is donating one game check in the first week of feb to a similar cause. It gets a write up in the local fish wrap, and an announcement will be made prior to our game about our donation. I highly doubt IHSA has an issue with this. If they did I doubt it would go over very well given the sensitive nature of this disease. Nor would I care. Get with the other ref/refs and wear your pink. Once the ball tips no one is going to care what color your whistle is. The only difference is when a coach yells at you is he turns pink instead of red.:D

In Stock * *NEW* *<PINK/BLACK> ULTRA-TEK High School V-NECK Basketball Referee Shirt by The Official's Choice, Inc.