Press & Media Resources

Officiating gear built and tested by working officials — not a generic sporting goods catalog. For Refs, By Refs™.

For boards, assignors, and organized groups. If you’re an individual official, start with “Officials: Start Here.”

Quick Summary

Don Stripes LLC builds referee uniforms and officiating equipment for football, basketball, and lacrosse officials. We design based on real-game use, real feedback, and the stuff that actually annoys you mid-game. For Refs, By Refs™.

Featured Coverage

MarketSpy
“The Ref Behind the Gear: How Don Stripes Is Building a Brand Officials Can Actually Trust”
https://marketspy.com/news/the-ref-behind-the-gear-how-don-stripes-is-building-a-brand-officials-can-actual-7qxov

It’s a quick overview of who we are and why we build this gear the way we do.

Quality (the honest version)

We don’t do “premium” buzzwords. We do real-world details.

Example: we got the chest pocket wrong on our first referee shirt. Over 30 working officials told us what failed in actual games: the pocket was too shallow, awkward with a lanyard in the way, and it lost structure after repeated washing. So we redesigned it — deeper pocket, reinforced base, adjusted placement — based on how officials actually move and work.

Read the full story: https://donstripes.com/we-got-the-chest-pocket-wrong/

That feedback loop is the point. If something doesn’t work in-game, we fix it. For Refs, By Refs™.

Association orders (process-first)

If you’re an association, board, or assignor group: we can support group orders without turning it into an administrative mess.

• Sport(s) and item mix
• Estimated quantities
• Need-by date
• Who’s coordinating sizing and payment

Association pricing is available and depends on quantities and item mix. We don’t publish discount tiers publicly — we quote quickly based on what your group actually needs.

Founder

David Elkes — Founder

David is a 10+ season officiating veteran across football, basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball (youth through post-collegiate). He’s the President of the Tampa Bay Lacrosse Officials’ Association and started Don Stripes to build gear officials are proud to wear — without inflated price tags. For Refs, By Refs™.

Media downloads / resources

Need photos, background, or quick references? Here’s what we can provide.

• Founder headshot
• Product photos
• Brand boilerplate (copy/paste)
• Links to best sellers / gear checklists

Download the Don Stripes Media Kit (PDF): https://donstripes.com/don-stripes-llc-media-kit/

Contact for media/resources: webmaster@donstripes.com

If you’re an official looking for gear, start here: https://donstripes.com/gear-up/