I was watching about 5 mins of a replay of another game. All the receivers of the one team were wearing shorts...no football pants. When did wearing shorts become legal.
Uniform question
- Thread starter Alphalion75
- Start date
I have recently wondered the same. IIRC, several years ago we were flagged in a game because a players pants weren't long enough to cover his knees, I think it was a kicker that was penalized. But these minor uniform rules change often and aren't widely publicized, so I just assumed it's now an outdated rule.
I've also been wondering about "rule e" below:
"Mandatory Equipment
ARTICLE 3. All players must wear the following mandatory equipment:
a. Helmet.
b. Hip pads.
c. Jersey.
d. Knee pads.
e. Mouthpiece.
f. Pants.
g. Shoulder pads.
h. Socks.
i. Thigh guards.
"e. Mouthpiece. The mouthpiece must be an intra-oral device of any readily
visible color. It must not be white or transparent. It must be made with
FDA-approved base materials (FDCS) and worn covering all upper teeth. It is
recommended that the mouthpiece be properly fitted."
"Mandatory Equipment
ARTICLE 3. All players must wear the following mandatory equipment:
a. Helmet.
b. Hip pads.
c. Jersey.
d. Knee pads.
e. Mouthpiece.
f. Pants.
g. Shoulder pads.
h. Socks.
i. Thigh guards.
"e. Mouthpiece. The mouthpiece must be an intra-oral device of any readily
visible color. It must not be white or transparent. It must be made with
FDA-approved base materials (FDCS) and worn covering all upper teeth. It is
recommended that the mouthpiece be properly fitted."
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Maybe it's distortion from the television but dang, that guy's body is weirdly out of proportion.
I've noticed this regarding the mouthpiece. I see mouthpieces dangling off the facemasks during live plays all the time. The rule on the books states that a player in violation has to be removed from the field for at least one down and can come back only upon compliance, but I don't see much evidence of this being enforced anymore. If I understand the rule correctly, any player identified in violation after the ball is ready is either asked to leave the field (prior to the snap), or the team has to spend a timeout if they do not want to run a play down a man. Quite frankly, I think refs either ignore it or they give kids verbal warnings without taking enforcement to the level of the rulebook.
The first I noticed it was several years ago when we were playing Pitt and their DE basically was wearing shorts.
Knee Pads. Knee pads must be covered by pants. Furthermore, the pants and knee pads are recommended to cover the knees. No pads or protective equipment may be worn outside the pants.
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My guess is to make them lighter.
Even in '69, '70 and '71 many of the DB's we had were not wearing girdles or thigh pads......they'd pack them incase the refs objected.
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