Overheard at yesterday's ball game

[pat]

Yesterday was J's first game in the "major leagues" -- the highest division in his age group in our local Little League. They are a lot stricter enforcing the rules at this level, one of them being that players are forbidden to wear any jewelry except religious items.

One boy had what looked like a braided cloth ring around his neck. It did not have a religious medal on it, so the umpire ordered it off. I don't know why the boy was wearing it, but it was clearly something that could not be simply slipped off -- it was smaller than his head. It could not be removed without destroying it. The child was adamant that he was not going to remove it.

After much argument -- with the coach supporting his player -- the umpire let it go. One parent behind me remarked they should simply cut the thing off and then said (and I am not making this up) "They have to teach the kids to obey the rules. It's a matter of professionalism."

I was so stunned at this comment that I was unable to speak. I realize -- or at least hope -- that the woman may not have thought about exactly what she said, but still....

Sheesh. Those Little League scandals that crop up now and then don't seem so unbelievable.

Comments

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

As someone else downthread pointed out, that means he had to have been wearing it non-stop for YEARS (since I don't think it's possible to braid such a thing in place around someone's neck).

I completely agree with your viewpoint (no surprise), but disagree with the comment in brackets. Our kids both wear rope bracelets which were woven around their wrists by fellow sailors, and which they can't remove without cutting or unravelling. One of them also wears one around an ankle. I'm certain that similar techniques can be used to weave a necklet. I can't remember the name of the weaving/braiding technique though.

Our parental intervention in this has been limited to reminding them how to get the bracelets made large enough for possible water-retention and body growth, encouraging them to wash and dry the bracelets and covered areas of skin and to monitor the smell, and brainstorming about choices they may need to make in the future between the bracelets and certain jobs, sports, or fashions.

I am enlightened

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the context. I had seen such a bracelet, but I still wasn't sure it was possible to do around someone's *neck* such that it was small enough not to go around the head. Thanks for letting me know that the technique does exist!