Good Argument for Going Commando

The Hereford High School cross country team thought they had won the county championship when they learned one of their runners had been disqualified, dropping the team to third place. His offense? He was wearing black compression shorts with visible white stitching underneath his running shorts, in violation of Rule 9, Section 6, Article 1b of the National Federation of High Schools rule book, which states: “Items displaying seams stitched on the outside of the garment in a visible contrasting color to the undergarment will be illegal beginning with the 2009-10 school year.”

Track officials defended the ruling, and noted that other teams had changed clothes to comply. But no one seems to have a good explanation for the rule. “Your cross country uniform is supposed to say that ‘I’m from high school XYZ.’ Philosophically, that’s what ‘team’ is all about,” said Becky Oakes, assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. “The Spandex undergarment began to get away from that.”

The ruling received national attention this week, with Deadspin stating, “I don’t know if any post I’ve written for this site has generated more public feedback.”