Among those who deal with the University of Hawai'i athletic department regularly, there is a rule of thumb stating that as soon as a new policy is announced, something is bound to happen exposing its shortcomings.

And so it has been with the athletic department's two-week-old policy of not announcing injuries.

In the time it took the print to dry on this latest missive from the mount in Manoa, we've already had ample reason to question it.

In the season-opening football game at Alabama, safety Leonard Peters was seen painfully clutching his ribs, an injury UH officially refused to acknowledge existed. Peters talked about it but a spokeswoman, doctors and trainers were all gagged by an edict some found head-shakingly laughable.

It has, however, been the case of the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team that has brought the policy into wider view and criticism. Hitter Tara Hittle could be seen on the bench this week with a walking cast, but all UH would say about Hittle or sidelined All-America setter Kanoe Kamana'o was neither had been "cleared to play" and the issues were medical.

In the absence of an official statement, it has been left for fans and media to speculate on the injuries and their severity, not the best of circumstances for anybody. Would Hittle and Kamana'o both be out the week? The season? Did it mean the end of promising careers? UH wasn't saying, but rumors were flying the way Hittle's shots used to.

The NFL many years ago saw the wisdom of announcing injuries to deter gamblers from gaining an edge. Clearly, betting isn't a problem in women's volleyball, but it could be in sports like football and men's basketball, where a little inside knowledge means a lot.

The apparent intent of the UH policy, rooted in law, is student privacy. In the past, athletes have had the option of waiving the privacy in the case of sports injuries, and it has seemed to suit the individuals and the school. Especially where it concerned broken bones and hamstrings. But the new policy by a department increasingly seen as obsessed with making rules to make rules, is a one-size-fits-all measure.

The problem is it leaves too much open to interpretation, much of it bound to be misinterpreted. For example, UH has in the past put people with drug issues under the "not cleared to play" category. Now, in the absence of more detailed information, people are bound to wonder about the possibility of drugs. Or, in the case of women who aren't wearing casts or bandages, pregnancy.

Progress this isn't.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.