October 15, 2009
Exercise and Sports, Other
Question from Rocky Point, New York, USA:
My 12-year-old son is playing soccer for the school team. He wears a medical identification tag because he has type 1 diabetes. The athletes are asked to remove all jewelry before a game. My son removes it because he does not want to bring attention to himself. Is he legally allowed to wear his identification bracelet during games?
Answer:
I have not heard of any laws that permit a person with diabetes to wear medical alert jewelry. I do know there are rules for athletics that allow referees to tell athletes to remove objects (i.e., knee braces, earrings, rings, etc.) that can be dangerous to the individual or another athlete.
There are athletes who wear a rubber bracelets similar to Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong” that say type 1 diabetes with contact information. Referees may be more likely to allow athletes to wear a rubber medical alert compared to metal.
RP
[Editor’s comment: For related information, see our page on Medical Identification Products.
BH]
