Hmmm. I thought it might be just a one-time typo, but there it is again. What the heck is with the "at" sign in front my (or anybody else's) user name?
Not my label. I'll thank you to refrain from taking liberties with my user name. (I can't speak for others, but they may not like it, either).
And don't pretend to know what I will, or won't, enforce. I'm the guy fighting to get everybody to call illegal shifts (or illegal shift that converts to a false start) when Team A fails to stop and PAUSE for one FULL second before the snap. I'm the guy fighting to keep coaches very near the sideline between downs, while giving signals, then OFF THE WHITE by the time the ball is snapped (end line to end line). I'm the guy fighting to keep defensive players from deliberately stepping on/kneeing/pushing up off the ball carrier after they make the tackle. I'm the guy that checks game balls every game. I'm the guy that insists on having a conference with BOTH clock operators before every game. EVERY GAME! I'm the guy that won't allow the game operations folks to switch the lights off (fully dark) after a score or other 'home' event (in keeping with the NCAA direction, to which the UIL has NOT taken exception). (It won't be me that makes headlines when some kid gets sent to the hospital after getting kicked in the nads, or shanked, or smashed in the head with a helmet while the lights are out, and all we see is the kid laying on the ground in agony (or worse) after the lights come back on.) I'm the guy that makes game management move the end zone camera from right behind the goal support to outside the limit line, and make all photographers and 'dignitaries' stay outside the limit lines THE ENTIRE GAME. I'm the guy that makes the bands not play when the opponent is about to put the ball in play.
The guys that we are talking about don't do that, to ensure their position in the pecking order of 'coach picks,' or because they are too frickin' lazy.
Now. I will grant you that the knee covering thing is a different animal. A player can easily get a mouthpiece. A player can get easily a tailbone pad. A player can easily get a tinted visor removed from his helmet. Unfortunately, a player can't so easily get a pair of pants with longer legs within an hour of game time (especially a visiting team). And the coaches know that. They blame it on the uniform supplier: "Well that's what they sent us!" After two seasons of trying to fight this, everyone just gave up on that issue. Obviously, the coaches not only don't care, but, by omission, they encourage this behavior in the name of improved performance (real or imagined). We might have made one or two players work hard to keep their pants pulled down at the start of a drive, but then they 'shrink' up. And we just got tired of fighting this. They don't care; we don't care.
If the UIL writes their own rule to increase enforcement of this, then, by all means, WE need to stick it to 'em in those first few weeks, regardless of threats to scratch us, etc. And then we write up every incident where we had to enforce such a new UIL rule, and force the UIL to support us, or tell us, officially, "Just kidding."
Yes, this is an issue that the UIL needs to address internally, and not make us the 'bad guys.' Have us send in incident reports for every team that plays a player that doesn't wear conforming pants. No in-game penalty - just an incident report. Then they can use the incident report to fine the teams. And maybe even rule them ineligible for post-season play, if they have multiple incident reports for this reason.
Won't happen, as much as I wish it would.
Just don't pretend to know what I will, or won't, enforce. And don't call me "@".
