NFL trying to ban long hair

[Axl's Army]

I'm for banning it. It's just unnecessary. Tuck it under the helmet or something. If you have it out & long & get it tugged on you deserve it.

[aaawall91]

I didn't realize that was the ruling on hair as part of the body.

I'm not sure how I view this

On one side I think that pulling down by the hair is just not called for, similar to horse collars and going for QBs below the knees.

But then If a rule was put in place, that could mean a disadvantage to someone trying to tackle a guy with long hair who may not mean to use the hair to pull the player down, or trying to tackle a guy with Polamolu (sp) hair from behind without being called would be ridiculous. And on the same side if a rule were put on place that made it illegal to tackle by the hair, it could be abused, all corners could have huge fros (even fake hair!) protruding out the backside of their helmet to block the vision on the receivers without a downside.

I probably stand the same on this as before though. If you want long hair fine. But be aware that it can be used against you legally. I say the league stays where they are.

[eaglesrule]

funny how by and large its the defensive players who do it. Its by definition "part of your body," so if you don't want to be tackled by it, don't provide it.

althoguh this is much less about safety if you ask me. And you know what? I don't care. Everyone wants to bemoan dress codes, hair styles, etc., but those are not protected when you work for private employers. You can be told to wear a suit, and you can be told not to wear your hair long (unless its religion, and even then, if having it short is integral for the job, you can be told to adjust), etc. And like it or lump it, if you are in a conservative (small c, not big C) institution, better not wear mustaches and beards etc., if they prefer clean shaven men. Just the way it is.

[SniperShot]

I actually giggled like a school girl when I saw this. But I'm a Browns fan though so what do you expect.

I remember that, it was a week or so after somebody almost broke LJ's neck on a massive facemask. LJ sure held on to his hair for quite a long time in my opinion...

I had LJ that year.

Edit: Nevermind

[moochman]

This is a no-brainer for the Goodall boys. They want players to stop going to strip clubs, getting drunk in public, driving fast cars fast, having weapons. You know, activities of youth. No they want players to stop wearing long hair. Just a bunch of crusty old farts who are scared by the young high paid athletes. Pure and simple. They got where they are by being a conformist and obeying rules, so they harbor irrational fear and loathing toward those who don't.

I think what they should do is to remove the names off the jerseys while they're at it. No reason to bring attention to the players.

[eaglesrule]

This is a no-brainer for the Goodall boys. They want players to stop going to strip clubs, getting drunk in public, driving fast cars fast, having weapons. You know, activities of youth. No they want players to stop wearing long hair. Just a bunch of crusty old farts who are scared by the young high paid athletes. Pure and simple. They got where they are by being a conformist and obeying rules, so they harbor irrational fear and loathing toward those who don't.

I think what they should do is to remove the names off the jerseys while they're at it. No reason to bring attention to the players.

Sorry, in some respects you SHOULd be scared of these guys, when their actions lead to firearms being shot at people and cars going 100 mph on PUBLIC roads. I fail to see the ageism, racism or any -ism in that. That behavior is dangerous for not just the perpetrator, but for everyone else. I don't find that part of it irrational at all. If we are talking about hair and fashion etc., then I think that is where the stronger point is to be made.

[moochman]

This is a no-brainer for the Goodall boys. They want players to stop going to strip clubs, getting drunk in public, driving fast cars fast, having weapons. You know, activities of youth. No they want players to stop wearing long hair. Just a bunch of crusty old farts who are scared by the young high paid athletes. Pure and simple. They got where they are by being a conformist and obeying rules, so they harbor irrational fear and loathing toward those who don't.

I think what they should do is to remove the names off the jerseys while they're at it. No reason to bring attention to the players.

Sorry, in some respects you SHOULd be scared of these guys, when their actions lead to firearms being shot at people and cars going 100 mph on PUBLIC roads. I fail to see the ageism, racism or any -ism in that. That behavior is dangerous for not just the perpetrator, but for everyone else. I don't find that part of it irrational at all. If we are talking about hair and fashion etc., then I think that is where the stronger point is to be made.

My response to that arguement is always remember that athletes are a representative slice of societ. There are good and bad people out there and you can't dress them like you want and make them good. I do believe, however, that letting athletes of questionable moral fiber participate in sports can help to turn what might have been truely scarey people into productive members of society. Don't forget that while we alway hear of our sports figures speeding, shooting, and hitting their women there are exponentially more everyday people out there making the same mistakes that we never hear about. Athletes actions, while I don't condone, are not all that different than what is happening right in our own hood.

[Munboy]

Hey NFL officials....

Find something productive to do with your time.

[FantasyMan13]

Hey NFL officials....

Find something productive to do with your time.

I actually heard on the radio that the Chiefs suggested this a few weeks ago. Jokes about the Chiefs offseason priorities proceeded

[eaglesrule]

This is a no-brainer for the Goodall boys. They want players to stop going to strip clubs, getting drunk in public, driving fast cars fast, having weapons. You know, activities of youth. No they want players to stop wearing long hair. Just a bunch of crusty old farts who are scared by the young high paid athletes. Pure and simple. They got where they are by being a conformist and obeying rules, so they harbor irrational fear and loathing toward those who don't.

I think what they should do is to remove the names off the jerseys while they're at it. No reason to bring attention to the players.

Sorry, in some respects you SHOULd be scared of these guys, when their actions lead to firearms being shot at people and cars going 100 mph on PUBLIC roads. I fail to see the ageism, racism or any -ism in that. That behavior is dangerous for not just the perpetrator, but for everyone else. I don't find that part of it irrational at all. If we are talking about hair and fashion etc., then I think that is where the stronger point is to be made.

My response to that arguement is always remember that athletes are a representative slice of societ. There are good and bad people out there and you can't dress them like you want and make them good. I do believe, however, that letting athletes of questionable moral fiber participate in sports can help to turn what might have been truely scarey people into productive members of society. Don't forget that while we alway hear of our sports figures speeding, shooting, and hitting their women there are exponentially more everyday people out there making the same mistakes that we never hear about. Athletes actions, while I don't condone, are not all that different than what is happening right in our own hood.

\

My response to your response is "so what?" they are a slice of society of course, and there are tons of people doing similar things. They aren't really in any way representative of greater society in many key ways; money, fame, accountability, sheer physical size, etc. They are rewarded the way they are because the stakes are so much higher.

But, you can't serious argue that the ones who do act up are in any way related to real society. What would happen if john q. african american was at the root of a strip club shooting, or knocked down the door to his girlfriend's room, or any of the other litany of things? I would argue the point that "everyday people" don't "make it rain" at the strip club, and have the resultant brouhaha result in a man's paralysis. Everyday people in society can't afford the sports cars to go screaming down the highway like some of these people do, or get away with the DUIs etc.

I realize that there are more good than bad in the NFL and the bad get a disproportionate part of the rep. But ALL news works that way and focuses on the bad. And as it pertains to the bad pro athletes, their wealth, notoriety, sense of entitlement etc. combine in a way that doesn't happen for everyday people. Maybe "exponentially more" everyday people make more mistakes, but many aren't in the position to make the qualitatively bad mistakes. And besides, sometimes sports is the vehicle for making people into better figures of society. But with the accolades and unwiligness of friends, families, coaches to jeopardize winning and fame in the name of kncokcing some sense into these kids, it can also make a bad situation worse. Many quality athletes don't have to man up to their responsbilities, simply because they are good at sports.

Finally, while I thinkt he rule is stupid, if we are going to both comparing things to the "real world" (which the NFL really isn't even on the same planet), people can and are fired and disciplined for much less. Your work can fire you for things done outside of work. Your work can make you adhere to a dress code and behavioral conduct. Heck some employees around the country are being fired for smoking on their own time. I know people who work for Coke who were seen drinking pepsi on their own time and disciplined. Point being is the NFL can put rules in place to help fix the image. Because honestly, whether "regular people" are doing worse things or not is irrelevant. Players get paid so much, admired so much and are in the public eye. You can;t take the good and ignore the bad, the league has a right to clean up that perception, because some (not all) but some, is actually earned and isn't a product of racism or ageism.