Why Is It So Hard to Find an Umpire Uniform for Women?
Women are starting to break into a male-dominated field, but the attire isn’t quite catching up.
About 20 years ago, an attorney named Kitty Grubb saw an advertisement in her local paper that said the basketball referees’ association in Pinellas County, Florida, was looking for officials. Grubb, 65 years old, had first hoped to become a referee in 1977, having played basketball in high school and college. By the time she saw the advertisement, she had a successful career as a lawyer and extra time on her hands.
Grubb’s officiating career would eventually span about two decades and three sports: basketball, rowing, and football. Early on, she began reading the Florida High School Athletic Association Officials Guidebook. On page two, one guideline reads: “Officials shall … dress neatly and appropriately.”
There was one
