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A college football player is defending the length of his football shortsTate Sandell’s on-the-field attire drew controversy when ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit mocked the Oklahoma Sooners’ kicker for his “Daisy Dukes””I’m not changing it,” Sandell said of his shorts after the Nov. 1 game
A college football player is standing by his uniform choice.
Tate Sandell, the kicker for the Oklahoma Sooners, spoke to reporters over the weekend to address the shorter shorts he sported on the field during a Saturday, Nov. 1 game. The shorts garnered attention after sports broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit belittled the player’s attire live on air, OU Daily reported.
In recent games, Sandell has opted for football shorts that end midway down his thigh — a departure from the more traditional look of nearly knee-length shorts that his teammates wore.
Tate Sandell.
AP Photo/Wade Payne
“I didn’t know they were that short,” Sandell told reporters with a laugh. “But I’m not going to say I’m going to change it, because it’s working.”
When a reporter asked if his shorts were shorter than normal that day, Sandell said that his shorts had ripped before the game. They “kept falling down,” he said, so he continued to pull them up higher so they would stay put.
Still, he insisted, “I’m not changing it.”
Sandell succeeded in all four of his field goal attempts on Saturday, and this season he’s made 93.3% of his field goal attempts ahead of Week 10, according to The Athletic.
Sandell’s remarks to reporters came after commentators Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler, both broadcasters for ESPN, drew attention to the length of the player’s shorts during the Sooners’ win over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.
Tate Sandell.
David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Fowler remarked that wearing short shorts is “no longer frowned upon in the sport,” while Herbstreit responded, “It is for me.”
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“That should be a penalty. Just dressing like that should be a penalty,” Herbstreit said. “What the hell is it, wearing shorts out there? Got his Daisy Dukes on and puts it right down the middle again.”
The NCAA’s rulebook requires football pants that extend over the knees, not shorts, alongside helmets, shoulder pads and knee pads that must be covered by the pants, according to The Athletic. However, since coaches and the broader organization seem to take no issue with the growing trend of shorts, as of late, referees rarely enforce the rule.