NCAA to outlaw fun at softball games

The NCAA will get rid of intricate dugout celebrations during softball games.

The NCAA strikes again.

Although a unique part of the sport, intricate, choreographed dugout celebrations by NCAA softball teams will no longer be allowed,​ reports The Advocate. The NCAA will stop teams from using props and altering their uniforms while in the dugout, which means we’ll no longer see stuff like...

A long time ago, in a softball dugout far, far away...@CalSoftball prepared to take on the Wildcats!#Pac12SBhttps://t.co/fqLBdPQDOy

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) May 14, 2016

In need of a late rally, @IlliniSB knows how to lighten things up in the dugout. https://t.co/beng0JaJQo

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) May 13, 2016

Welcome to Murray State Softball's dugout. #doitagainwelikedit @RacersSoftball @RGODSB15 pic.twitter.com/DkJMmt1Drm

— Mallory Newton (@malnewton21) May 2, 2016

While some of us will miss seeing LSU pull out a live fish during a game, others are less worried. Here’s what SI’s Kayla Lombardo, a three-time conference champion softball player at Fordham, had to say about the NCAA’s new rule:

“I support the ban first off because I’m a buzzkill by nature, so there’s that. But really because I think these props take away from the focus that needs to exist to succeed in softball. I also think it’s a bit disrespectful to the game. It’s sort of the bat flip of college softball, in my opinion. Maybe I’m a little old school, but I think if you respect the game and play it the way it was intended to be played, then good things will come your way. Don’t piss off the softball gods. If you want to wear a horse mask or conductor’s hat after the game, be my guest, but in the heat of the battle, the only ‘props’ I think you should be focused on are your bat and glove.”

Kayla is by far the best athlete currently working at Sports Illustrated and her success on the field speaks for itself, so we can’t really argue with what she has to say.