viso

Question
can i get a permitt to wear a visor black

Answer
No, black eye shields or visors are not permitted by rule.

The exact rule addressing visors under American football playing rules [NCAA & NFHS] are:

 NCAA FOOTBALL RULE 1-4-5-s
Illegal Equipment:
ARTICLE 5. No player wearing illegal equipment shall be permitted to play. Any question as to the legality of a player抯 equipment shall be decided by the umpire. Illegal equipment includes the following:
...
s. Eye shields that are not clear or made from molded or rigid material. Note: No player wearing illegal equipment shall be permitted to play. If illegal equipment is discovered by an official, the team shall be charged a team timeout.  

National Federation of High School football Rule 1-5-3-n the rule is the same as the NCAA's.  The eyeshield must be a molded rigid material that is 100% translucent without any color or tinting.

There can be no tinting or coloring (including Black tinting/color) of any degree or to any extent for any player subject to the playing rules.   The reason for this is derived from a sports medicine/ safety basis.  The National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA)in the U.S. petitioned or lobbied the rules committee to make eye shields/visors illegal equipment if they had any amount tinting.  Players with suspected neck & head injuries are to have their cervical spine immobilize for precautionary reasons and such a player would also need to have his pupils evaluated to determine if there were any [head] neurological or brain injury.  

A tinted or color visor dose not allow the sports medical or emergency medical personnel to properly evaluate the pupils.  To properly evaluate the pupils medical personnel needs to have total access to the players pupils.  Thus to do so they would have to remove the eyeshield that could cause unnecessary jostling of the head and neck.  Evaluating the pupils through an eyeshield/visor with tinting does not give accurate data as to whether the pupils are equal and reactive to light.  The slightest of tinting can mask the pupils reaction/response to light.  A totally clear eyeshield with no degree of tinting will not affect the light waves on the pupil's response.  The NATA opined that if a player needed or wanted a tinted eye shield, it could be achieved best by glasses or contact lens that could be easily removed to allow access to the pupils without risk of moving a players head or neck.

I am aware of some photos of players wearing dark visors, some of those photos predated the rule, other photos are of dark complected players thus giving an appearance of a dark tinted visor. I am also aware of a photo [from 2 years ago] of a player who was wearing illegal equipment/dark visor which I believe was taken care of the following week administratively through the conference office.

Hope this answers your question,

Vic Winnek
NCAA Football Official