# That thing NFL referees wear on their hand

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-nfl-referees-wear-on-their-hand/88711>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 21, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-nfl-referees-wear-on-their-hand/88711 "2001-10-21T17:44:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![gruven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@gruven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruven)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-nfl-referees-wear-on-their-hand/88711/1 "2001-10-21T17:44:49Z")

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I usually see it on the hand that doesn’t have the whistle in it. It looks like a little wristband connected to a strap that goes up the back of the hand and over one finger. I really can’t imagine what it’s for! Anyone?

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-thing-nfl-referees-wear-on-their-hand/88711/2 "2001-10-21T17:56:36Z")

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There was a staff report and a thread about this.

[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2411](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2411)

The particular thing you mentioned is a strap that holds the official’s whistle. He moves the strap over each finger to keep track of the downs.