In Washington State during the 2010 football season the high school football referees decided to use pink whistles as part of a program to increase breast cancer awareness.
During the season the governing bodies, Washington Officials Association and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association decided pink whistles were a bad idea and made a rule prohibiting football referees from using pink whistles. The WIAA spokesman has declined to comment on the reasoning. Referees were disciplined for speaking out against the policy. The Pacific Northwest Football Officials Association has filed suit.
Conor Laffey, spokesman for the WIIA declined to comment and is now the spokesman who won’t speak.
Maybe there is a level of decorum that must be maintained in high school football. Maybe a pink whistle just isn’t up to the job of calling unnecessary roughness or pass interference.
Much time and resource is going to be wasted on this power struggle. In the big picture there is really not much at stake.
Business is a different ball game. One where ego and political power struggles are in play everyday and have profound negative impact.
If you are accountable for business results, decisions that insult common sense better be on the side of innovation rather than political power, control and ego. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.