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It is a transparently racist rule. I don't buy the "its part of their culture" nonsense, but there is no need to try to build some sophistic argument.

The NFL has been cool with white guys' long hair hanging out for decades. NEVER a problem with it. Now that black hairstyles are long, it is a problem? Please. Some old bigot in the front offices just hates to see "them" get all uppity and noticed. "We'll lose viewers! It'll be like the NBA on astroturf with all them hoodlums acting black and stuff!"

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 07:23 AM

How about the face that refs can't see the number or name, or the safety issue when it comes to getting tackled by your hair? There is no reason they can't put it up in their helmets and there is no way it is a racist rule.

BigBlueLube | 03/28/08, 07:28 AM

...having said that, I have no problem with an employer starting or changing a dress code. Just do it. But don't blow sunshine up my ass while you lie about why.

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 07:28 AM

"How about the face that refs can't see the number or name, or the safety issue when it comes to getting tackled by your hair? "

You are aware that there are great big ol' numbers on their jerseys, right? I mean you have watched football before? You are aware that hundreds of high schools and many colleges have no names on their jerseys and the refs identify the players just fine?

As far as a safety issue, you are aware that for the last 50 years there have been scores of players with hair sticking out from under their helmet? Why wasn't it a safety issue until black hairstyles became long?

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 07:31 AM

so grow it back when you retire .. I think when you're getting paid the exorbitant amounts that you do, you're employer has the right to dictate your dress code.
cultural my ass.

KPKahder-Fire Tomase | 03/28/08, 07:45 AM

So it was okay when Kyle Turley and Jeremy Shockey were sporting the mullet but now it's not? I guess timing is everything if you're not blonde ...

Cheesy Texan | 03/28/08, 07:53 AM

let the hair be, if they wanna let it hang let it hang, they are all men doing there job so leave it at that. as for the refs calling there names or cant seeing it or there numbers, LOL i hardly doubt a ref would not be able to notice the player with the long hairs name or number so yeah let them be

trojan904 | 03/28/08, 07:57 AM

let them keep there hair, there full grown man who understand that having long hair in the league is dangerous and they are still will to play with it hanging out. THAT WHY THERE PROFESSIONALS, as for the refs not being able to see there last name and number, thats all BULL. if all the refs in the game cant identify the player or number even team then maybe they shouldnt be a ref!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

trojan904 | 03/28/08, 07:57 AM

Part your hair down the middle, separate one section to the left one section to the right, braid the left section to form a plait, repeat on the right. Two braids which will hang down the front will leave the name on the back of the uniform visible and the hair remains at the length you want / need for 'cultural' reasons. Everyone's happy.

lady Deathstrike | 03/28/08, 08:03 AM

Don't get me wrong. If the NFL passed a rule saying that eveyone had to shave their heads and wear purple greasepaint, I'd argue that the NFL had the right. If a player with long hair gets a sprained neck because of it, I'd snort and wonder why in the Hell he wanted to leave a handle out there.

I was just amused at the timing of the rule, and the blatantly spun reasoning. I have a pretty hard time feeling sorry for someone making 6 times as much as me per year having to cut his hair for their job.

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 08:15 AM

Frankly if they want that hair hanging all over their back then that's issue. However, don't go whining to the NFL it is gets inadvertantly yanked a couple times a year. I forsee the "No hair pull" rule to join the horsecollar.

Hooah!05 - Love Machine | 03/28/08, 08:24 AM

so grow it back when you retire .. I think when you're getting paid the exorbitant amounts that you do, you're employer has the right to dictate your dress code.
cultural my ass.
KPKahder -HA ! | 03/28/08, 07:45 AM
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NO WAY I"m going to let my employer tell me what to wear and how to wear it. Oh wait, sorry. I was in the Army right? Shoot! No wait! Sorry, duck!

Hooah!05 - Love Machine | 03/28/08, 08:26 AM

Blut and all the others who think this is a black-white issue, black players have had dreads and long hair, hair FAR longer anything Shockey ever sported, for YEARS. RW McQuarters and Mike McKenzie immediately pop into my mind as players who sported long hair their entire careers. This is not a race issue this is a safety issue. God quit trying to look at everything as black and white I bet you think that Lebron-Giselle photo is racist too.

BigBlueNJ | 03/28/08, 08:30 AM

Get a hair cut: You Girlie Men!

Greco-Roman | 03/28/08, 08:33 AM

"Blut and all the others who think this is a black-white issue, black players have had dreads and long hair, hair FAR longer anything Shockey ever sported, for YEARS."
Did I mention Shockey? How long have you been watching football? I was actually picturing Fouts, Stabler, Richards, and Gabriel. At a few points in their careers, their hair darped over their names.

"This is not a race issue this is a safety issue."
So it was not a safety issue the past 40 years?

"I bet you think that Lebron-Giselle photo is racist too."
I've no idea what photo you're talking about or who those people are. How much did you bet?

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 08:37 AM

Okay, so how long is too long? Can it touch the collar? Should it not be seen sticking from under the helmet? If I recall correctly, if a player is called for a penalty, his NUMBER not his NAME is called out and the number is clearly marked in 4 places on the jersey and 2 more on the helmet. There is no way a ref can miss it. Try another argument, NFL!

Cheesy Texan | 03/28/08, 08:39 AM

Blut I don't care if white guys had long hair, black guys have had long hair to for well over 10 years at least. It is NOT a race issue. Troy complained about getting dragged down by his hair. The NFL is trying to correct the problem but the solution is not making it illegal to tackle by the hair. Either stuff it in your helmet or get it cut, whether you or black or white or Samoan it doesn't matter.

BigBlueNJ | 03/28/08, 08:42 AM

It isn't just about seeing the number/name it is also the safety issue. And you can't ban people grabbing hair. This is not a horse collar that is a relatively stationary target, this is HAIR. It flops around and easily gets grabbed along with a bunch of jersey.

BigBlueNJ | 03/28/08, 08:43 AM

"Blut I don't care if white guys had long hair, black guys have had long hair to for well over 10 years at least. "

There have been black guys with long hair for the entirety of human history, Scooter. The last 10 years, there has been a steady increase in the number of black NFL players to sport it. Now, in spite of 50 years of long hair on white guys in the NFL, a rule is suddenly needed? For safety reasons?

Again, just tell me why it wasn't a safety issue in the 60's, 70', 80's, or 90's, before the increased popularity among black players.

The solution today is the solution it has always been: Let the idiot get his hair yanked out. Serves him right for leaving it out there on the field.

Blutwulf | 03/28/08, 08:49 AM

It's not a "cultural" thing in the vast majority of cases (Troy P. in Pittsburg is an exception for sure). Long hair on black players is just the current trend. No matter what skin color people have, in general people follow trends. It's how you can look at old pictures and know from the clothing and hair styles what decade they were taken in.

I don't think the NFL is being particularly racist as much as they're just trying to maintain uniformity - the same way they have excessive rules for other things related to player and coaching staff uniforms and appearances. They have a different philosophy than say MLB, where players often have very personalized ways of wearing their "uniform."

I'm smack in the middle of the NFL's target demographic (mid-30s white male with disposable income), and I really could not care less whether a player has long hair or tattoos or whatever. The NFL certainly has the right to impose a hair length rule as part of their uniform rules, whether they choose to sugarcoat the reasoning behind it or not. Just like how the Yankees and Reds historically have banned facial hair and long hair.

Common sense *should* prevail, but it rarely does because most people can't look beyond their own individual situations to the bigger picture. There is a compromise to be reached somewhere if the two sides would work together rather than drawing lines in the sand and refusing to budge.

willwillis.us | 03/28/08, 08:54 AM