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

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

just so you don't think I'm totally heartless - on the piercing stud issue, I always show the parents how to use a bit of beading silk pulled thru the hole during the game, at which point the studs can go back in after the game and until the next time, so that the kid doesn't lose her piercing. And I carry a spool of beading silk, a tiny bottle of peroxide, cotton swab and neosporin in my coaching bag for this very reason. It's the save-the-piercing kit and I ask Mom or Dad to take care of it before the game. See, it's all about finding a solution that allows the kid to follow the rules but in a smart way, as far as I'm concerned.