football bicep bands

[tjones1]

I believe this was covered in the rules video.

Illegal.

[JRutledge]

It was covered in the video. It is illegal by rule. It was illegal by IHSA interpretations in the past. It really is that simple.

Peace

[Theisey]

They are not supposed to be legal anywhere, but unfortunately occassionaly ignored in my area by some.
Who knows what some other state office might say about it, but lets not even go there. I'm worn out by all this A11 debate.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Theisey

They are not supposed to be legal anywhere, but unfortunately occassionaly ignored in my area by some.
Who knows what some other state office might say about it, but lets not even go there. I'm worn out by all this A11 debate.

From my point of view, this issue was hotly debated long before I knew what the A-11. At least I might never see the A-11 this year. Chances are we will have to deal with these stupid armbands and have to deal with them on a weekly basis in real football games, not just an internet discussion.

Peace

[FTVMartin]

They can wear wristbands (on their wrists). Nothing else.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by KWH

In our area we merely tell the coaches in the pre-game warmups that the arm bands have to go. They are not worn in our area and I know of no penalties thrown for armbands.
We have a mandate for the 2008 season that if the armbands (or any illegal equipment) appear during the game we send them kid out for one play, penalize the team with a 5-yard equipment violation and inform the head coach of the situation. If the same equipment violation occurs again, that kid is ejected and the head coach is given a UC penalty.

Please tell me how you cam justify ejecting a player for wearing an armband. I don't seem to find that in my rule book. Is that a state association interpretation?

[daggo66]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Please tell me how you cam justify ejecting a player for wearing an armband. I don't seem to find that in my rule book. Is that a state association interpretation?

They are defined as wrist bands and may not be worn more than 3 inches toward the elbow. If you tell someone they must remove it and they don't follow your instructions it's USC. If they do it again it's a second USC and an automatic ejection. This was a POE last year.

[BktBallRef]

Really? Where?

2007 NFHS FOOTBALL POINTS OF EMPHASIS

PLAYER EQUIPMENT AND UNIFORM ADORNMENTS
A greater focus must be made by coaches, players and officials on players having and properly wearing mandatory football equipment as required by NFHS Football Rules. A parallel focus must also be on not allowing players to wear illegal equipment or adornments.
Through normal observation, officials should attempt to verify that each player is legally equipped prior to the ball becoming live, and if illegal equipment is detected or required equipment is missing, that player must rectify the problem or leave the game.
Prior to the ball becoming live, if the officials are unable to detect the illegal or missing equipment, and the player(s) are observed wearing illegal equipment or participating without the mandatory equipment during the down, a foul must be called.
Helmet: Each player shall wear a helmet with a face mask which met the NOCSAE test standard at the time of manufacture. This helmet shall also have a visible exterior warning label regarding the risk of injury. The helmet shall be secured by a properly fastened chin strap with at least four snaps. The helmet shall not be used as the primary point of contact as in butt-blocking, face-tackling or spearing. Whenever the helmet of a ball carrier comes completely off, the ball becomes dead and the down is ended.
Pants: Knee pads are mandatory equipment that must be worn over the knee and must be of a specified thickness. Pants shall be worn that cover the knee and knee pads. Pants worn that do not meet this requirement becomes an unsportsmanlike foul charged to the head coach for violating his verification that all his players are legally equipped.
Knee Braces: Knee braces are not mandatory equipment. Knee braces may be worn to protect or prevent injury provided they meet the following requirements: They must not be made of hard, unyielding material, unless the hinges are covered on both sides and all of its edges overlap and the braces are worn under the pants. If the covering is not provided by the manufacturer, any portion of the brace that is of a hard material that extends below the pants must be covered. Any other hard substance across the front of the leg must covered with at least ½ inch of closed-cell, slow-recovery rubber or other material of the same minimum thickness and having similar physical external exposure.
Jersey: A legal jersey is mandatory equipment. The jersey shall be long enough to reach the top of the pants when a player is standing with his arms and hands down to his side. If the jersey is longer than just reaching the top of the pants, then it must be tucked inside the pants. Tear-away jerseys are not legal. Jerseys that cover just the shoulder pads are not legal. Jerseys that reach the top of the pants in length, but are tucked up under the bottom of the shoulder pads are not legal. Jerseys that have been altered resulting in taped or tied knot-like protrusions are not legal. Any hard surface auxiliary attachments to the shoulder pads must be fully covered by the jersey. A bicep pad connected to the shoulder pad must be fully covered by the jersey. Rib pads and back protectors must be fully covered by the jersey. Ball-colored jerseys or a jersey that enhances a player's contact with the ball is not legal.
Towels and Sweatbands: One unmarked moisture-absorbing white towel not less than 4 inches wide and 12 inches in length and no greater than 18 inches in width and 36 inches in width and/or one moisture-absorbing sweatband worn on one or both wrists beginning at the base of the thumb and extending no more than 3 inches toward the elbow are the only two uniform adornments that are legal.
Biceps Pads: May be worn on the upper arms. The plastic material covering this protective pad does not have to be covered if there is no cracked or cutting edge on the plastic surface. If such cracks or cutting edges exist on the plastic surface, the pads would not be legal unless properly covered. If the biceps pads are attached to the shoulder pads, they must be fully covered by the jersey.
Forearm Pads: Forearm pads are auxiliary equipment that may be worn provided they are sanctioned by the umpire as being soft, nonabrasive, or nonhardening material.. They may be anchored on each end by athletic tape. Tape, bandage or support wrap may be worn on the hand or forearm to protect an existing injury if sanctioned by the umpire. If the tape, bandage, or support wrap does not exceed three thicknesses, they may be worn without inspection or approval. Ball-colored pads or gloves are illegal equipment. Penalty-marker colored pads or gloves are illegal equipment. Any transverse stripe on the sleeve below the elbow is illegal.
Play Cards: Are not considered uniform adornments and may be worn on the forearm. (NFHS Interpretation)
Hard Substance (Casts): A cast in its final form may not be worn on the hand, wrist, forearm, or elbow unless it is padded as specified and its wearing is directed in writing by a licensed medical physician. Unless proper authorization is provided by a licensed medical physician, no hard material may be worn on the hand, wrist, forearm or elbow regardless of how well it is padded.
Jewelry: Jewelry shall not be worn. Religious and medical alert medals are not considered jewelry. A religious medal must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medical alert medal must be taped and may be visible.
Eye Shields: Eye shields which are not totally clear, not molded, or not rigid may not be worn. Eye shields must permit 100% light transmission to be legal. A tinted shield may not be worn even if a physician's letter is available saying the tinted shield is necessary.

[KWH]

Originally Posted by daggo66

They are defined as wrist bands and may not be worn more than 3 inches toward the elbow....

Actually you can define them as a wrist band or a uniform adorment.
Either way they are illegal when worn other than on the wrist.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by KWH

I explained how it is justified above.
But I will repeat it since you appear confused.

1) Coach is advised in the pre-game any and all uniform adorments or modifiyed equipment must be removed or corrected prior to participation.
2) If detected during play, player is sent out for one play, team recieves 5-yard equipment penalty, coach is notified of situation. (In your state this may be an UC)
3) On second penalty by same player, player is ejected, coach is issued UC.

You won't find it in your rule book. Amazingly enough you won't find the A-11 Offense to be a UC foul or a Travesty in your rule book either.

So you're saying that the NFHS rule book does not tell us to eject players for not removing bicep bands but your state association feels strongly about this, feels it's not good for the game and has taken it upon themselves to take a stand against this?

That's all I need to know! Thanks!

[HLin NC]

BANG

[KWH]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

So you're saying that the NFHS rule book does not tell us to eject players for not removing bicep bands but your state association feels strongly about this, feels it's not good for the game and has taken it upon themselves to take a stand against this?

That's all I need to know! Thanks!

No, BBR, once again you have misquoted me, just like you do on the NFHS webpage.
I gave up making childish attitude statements such as your "Thats all I need to know! Thanks" (listed above) when I reached puberty.
You do not attempt to engage in a discussion rather you find it necessary to slam anyone and everyone at will.
You have shown us all your acute abilty to copy and paste rules onto a thread! (Impressive to say the least)
You have the unique abilty to have an answer for everything yet a solution for none!
You are BBR, in the strongest sense of the term, a Legend in your own mind!

[ajmc]

The original question on this thread was, "Can the team get an USC penalty (for wearing armbands) or has this been changed. thanks". The absolute answer to that questions is "Yes", but the better question might have been SHOULD an USC penalty be assessed for wearing armbands, and that answer is not so universal.

Whether we each like it, or not, the NFHS rules identify this equipment as illegal and there is a prescribed penalty for playing with illegal equipment. They have decided the equipment poses a potential hazard, and it's their responsibility to render such judgments, not our's. However, equally important to our knowing the rules of the game is our judgment in knowing when to enforce them.

If a State Association, or a more localized Board, issued a specific modification or called special attention to this application of this rule, it seems logical to follow those instructions. However, as we've done for the last 100+ years we try and avoid the necessity of penalizing certain situations by what we call "preventive officiating", such as when we see a mouth piece dangling, or a chin strap unbuckled.

We're on the field for 30 minutes before each game, and inappropriate arm bands are pretty visible, even more so than prohibited knots tied under the armpits or on the back of jerseys. It seems a lot more productive to address this issue with the coaching staff before the game (emphasis on "address" rather than discuss) and prevent any subsequent oversight by refusing to allow any player, so equipped, from entering the game.

Those efforts should prevent 99.9% of the problems from occuring. If you find it necessary to apply the remedy proscribed by rule in the remaining 0.01%, it shouldn't surprise anyone.

[Careyy]

Following the book and calling it an adornment it would be a UC, 2 and you are gone, right? Also 9-5-1g Refusing to comply with an official's request-Penalty UC, page 73 The second unsportsmanlike results in a disqualification.

It would be nice if we actually followed the book, the amendments are a pain at times.