Michigan High School Runners Disqualified for Not Matching Undies
On Saturday, the entire Northville boys cross country team was disqualified from their race, and stripping them of their qualification in the Division 1 state championships. I think most of the team filled their shorts upon hearing the news. Which is appropriate, since it was their undies that disqualified them.
Seriously.
The MHSAA rules state that the team must wear matching uniforms, including their underwear, and the the undies must be a solid color. Imagine losing your job because you didn't match your undies to the dude in the next office. Crazy, right?
Tim Dalton, the Northville coach is pissed. He claims the officials hadn't
"made an effort to monitor illegal uniforms. There were other teams in that meet that were wearing different undergarments, but not addressed."
via MLive.com
Their appeals went nowhere, as the officials finding was upheld.
But wait, it gets weirder. One guy on the team was allowed to race for the championship. Northville's top runner, Nick Couyoumjian, can race at MIS this Sunday. Just him.
Why, you ask? Because he was the first place finisher for their team. This means that his underwear set the rule requirement for the rest of the team. THIS IS NOT EVEN A JOKE. Because the rest of the team didn't wear the same color underwear as the guy who ran faster than the rest of the team, the entire rest of the team was disqualified.