Hey guys.....I don't care what U wear. Wear a clown suit and blow a kazoo if that floats your boat. My point is that you have chosen to be something bigger than yourself; a football official. Don't tell me that part of the reason you have chosen that profession has nothing to do with the respect you receive while in "uniform"! The key is "uniform". I'm a retired military flyer. We wear sunglasses, but they are "uniform". Same frame, non-polarized, etc. If you don't like the limitations of the current uniform just get your association to change the standards for items of dress, tattoos, haircuts, etc. If you want to be respected as part of a profession you are asked to give up some individual liberties....while involved in that profession. How you dress in your private life is your business. The problem is when an individual takes it upon himself to "draw the line" on what is acceptable for that profession. Being an official is a profession....not just a job. It sounds to me that some of you want to keep your individual freedoms while garnering the benefits of being a member of a respected, although much maligned, profession.
Uniforms change as do standards. In the military you still are required to wear an approved uniform, standard eyewear, have a haircut within standards, etc. Tattoos that are visible were once a no/no, but that standard has eased. The point is that the limits still remain a defined standard.
The question really is what individual freedoms are you willing to give up to be a member of the profession you have chosen. If you don't like the standard get your organization to change the guidelines. It's not the glasses, the stripes, the haircut, the tattoos. It's the idea that you are a professional. The fans expect and respect that. Want to stop a play......carry an air horn. That whistle is so.......yesterday.