The Controversy Continues: Sun and Mullaly Receive Yellow card for Inappropriate Attire
May 25th, 2006 by conradJust as you thought this tournament couldn’t get any more interesting, second seeded doubles pair Justin Mullaly and Conrad Sun stepped foot on the court for the first time this tournament wearing all-white, capris “flood” pants that they purchased at Foot Locker (the exact same pants that Rafael Nadal wore during Wimbledon). In addition to that, Justin was wearing an all-white Nike sleeve-less muscle shirt. As soon as Justin removed his warm-up sweater, the Referee approached Justin and tells him to change to a t-shirt. The referee deemed the top inappropriate for men, but fine for ladies. Justin complied. Things went smoothly during the warm up, but as the players were getting ready to commence play, an outside official (who will remain anonymous) approached the chair umpire and said that the capris pants worn by the Albertan duo was not proper sport attire. A ten minute arguement took place between the players, Brendan Morgan, Denise Julien vs. the referee, and 3 other officials regarding the “inappropriate” attire. Since Justin did not have any shorts to change to, the umpire was told by the referee, to give both players a yellow card for inappropriate attire. I caught up with the official who initially brought up the issue and he insisted, “The pants were not proper athletic wear…they needed to be shorts that were at knee-length.” Justin Mullaly says, “Rafael Nadal wore these pants at Wimbledon, the strictest club in the world when it comes to attire. These are athletic capris that I bought at Foot Locker in the tennis section!” Conrad Sun stated, “I have never gotten a yellow card before in my life, and to receive my first card in this manner I think is ridiculous. The tournament entry application says ‘white clothing is mandatory’…thats all it says. I’ve done nothing wrong or offensive.” The referee would not allow Justin and Conrad to compete if they wore the same capris during the semi-finals. Looks like Justin will have to go back to foot locker and look for some shorts. Do you think Justin and Conrad deserved a yellow card? Do think its fair that women are allowed to sleeve-less tops and men aren’t? Let us know your thoughts.
Posted in Other Badminton Tournaments |
May 26th, 2006 at 5:51 am
And the gong show continues.
Did the IBF not sanction colored clothing?
Nice to see that that our umps now dem themselves experts of “appropriate fashion”. Maybe they need to do a Tide commercial.
Sound like the typical private club anal do-rag who still clings to the notion that badminton is a “white collar sport”.
May 26th, 2006 at 7:16 am
I’m starting up a male rights activist program and it looks as though equal rights in the badminton attire is as good as thing as any for our first radical, “semi-violent” protest.
I’ve always dreamt of pepper spraying an umpire while he’s pulls on my capris… LET THE ROCK THROWING COMMENCE MEN!!!
May 26th, 2006 at 10:19 am
I have never heard of anything more retarded in my life. The head officials are on such a power trip. Brenden Morgan, the head pro of the club, said it was perfectly fine. Honestly, what is the big deal! You’re allowed to wear long pants, or shorts, but if its in between (capris), its considered in appropriate. What a crock! There’s no rule in IBF or any badminton establishment that stipulates how long your pants can or cannot be.
May 26th, 2006 at 10:36 am
Maybe they felt that sleevless shirts and capri pants were a bit gay. And they themselves felt uncomfortable staring at you sexy boys. Haha. I know i know, its rigodamn dickulous, haha. But the truth be told most would much rather have a woman wearing a cut off t-shirt and a skirt then you boys. Throw in the towel and maybe a pair of panties at this nonsense. Keep it real.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Have the badminton officials looked at their outfits at all? 1970’s polyester suits are just plain bad. Let me say this - If Nike is “doing it” with their apparel then it is totally acceptable. They are the most leading edge athletic wear company in the world and they take chances. If badminton expects to gain any North American appeal (especially more exposure on television), they need to get rid of their boring image.
May 27th, 2006 at 11:30 am
I believe that they have to think out of the box and not just have the mindset of traditional short shorts, tshirts, and all whites. As you can see from the change of scoring system this year, badminton is an evolving sport and I think sooner or later, they will have to allow for more modern day attire.
May 29th, 2006 at 7:23 am
It’s always the same story. I don’t know how wearing sports capris will have a negative impact on the sport. Hey wait we may actually start to get some panache into the sport. Look the bottom line is if badminton doesn’t start to accept and push the limits, and allow the players personalities to shine then it isn’t going to grow.
May 29th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
I do agree with the umpires, although if Quebec wasn’t still in the stone age by still inforcing solid whites on court, shit like this wouldn’t happen. Kids get bored of the same old white and were looking to spruce things up. Capris and badminton don’t mix in my world, sorry guys.
May 31st, 2006 at 9:05 pm
I’m not too sure if men should ever wear capri’s. The fact of the matter is that I don’t think that most ladies look very good in them. But, if you have to wear “all-white” only, then they should allow for some creativity. Who really cares if these guys were wearing capri’s or tank-tops! I say if it feels good do it. Personally, I think the official woke up on the wrong side of the bed and should be watching for foul language instead. Which is exactly how I would have behaved if I were pulled off a court for something so trivial. Come on, French people are supposed to be more fashion forward, aren’t they??? LOL!
June 23rd, 2006 at 12:58 pm
What is the difference between wearing shorts, pants, or capris. Does it really matter if it is either one of them, I don’t think your oponents will say, ” Hey Mr. Umpire, my oponents wearing capris and it is really disturbing me! ” Hell, if my oponent would like to wear a tukseedo and dress shoes on court, it is totally fine by me, it’s his own choice and I would respect it.
As long as he is comfortable and I am comfortable with it, I really think that is all that should matter in badminton or any other sport. If the officials really want to keep the “all-white”, shorts, t-shirt look, then let them, I don’t think that would allow new to come into the sport of badminton, thus badminton would not be able to grow to it’s full potential. Anyways, who would want to go have fun at a tournament and have all your own style of chlothing chosen out before hand and in the middle of the tournament you are disturbed by the officials telling you can’t play here in your style of clothing and that you have to go and spend your money on traditional badminton sports attire. That would not be a fun tournament anymore. If a sport has restrictions on what people should wear on court, then it would just restrict the many distinctive types of people from joining badminton. People should also be able to screem and yell while a rally is going. You go to these tournaments in Canada and no one seems to be really into it, but you go to an IBF tounament and people are yelling and screaming during the rallys. You just don’t get that same amount of energy and excitement watching badminton as we should be getting. I think people should get as excited over badminton as people would get excited over hockey in Canada. If this is not allowed than it would be as exciting as watching two people playing a chess game.