new thread
hey all, thnx for all your help. I have failed though. I'm being kicked off the team this friday if i don't cut my hair. the only thing i have to say about this is THIS RULE IS TOTAL BULLS---.
at the game last saturday, i saw several players on the opposing team with longhair. and to top that, my coaches are still refuseing to let me see a copy of the schools rulebook so i can check it. they also won't let me see the athletic director either.
I'm going this next week just to give the coaches H---. then I'm saying screw them and joining the hockey team instead.
again, thnx for all the help.
HI Lupi,
I am catching this thread late, so forgive me for asking things you may have already said. I am a teacher (18 years) and think you might have some leverage here that you don't know about.
First, is your school private or public, and in which state?
Second, in both kinds of schools, students have a right to a copy of the student handbook. In fact, I suspect you may have already been given one, asked to sign a copy of it, or your parents were. Is it, perhaps on the school website? They cannot hold you to rules that they are unwillinng to let you see.
Third, the Athletic Director is an employee of the school, and his job description in some fashion or another makes him not only powerful over the program, but a servant of it, too. You do not have to go through the coaches to see the AD. Call his office and make an appointment. Or, get your parents to call and make an appointment with the AD for you. If asked about the nature of the visit, say that it is personal and needs immediate attention and that that is all you are willing to say on the phone.
Fourth, if you get an appointment with him, rest assured that he will have already talked to the coaches. Administrators do not like to go into a meeting blind. Take a supportive adult with you. Best if it's your parents.
Bottom line: someone needs to ask if the coaches are willing to lose a hardworking, talented, dedicated athlete over the length of his hair. It's a legitimage question if you show up, work hard, do your best, and follow all the athletic rules. It might not hurt to observe that a large number of pro and college athletes currently wear their hair long, and it does not seem to be impeding them.
Assure coaches and the AD that you mean no disrespect to them or their authority, that you want to play on the team and be a respected member of the team, but that you also want their respect for your decisions about your hair.
Best of luck,
Robert
thanks. I go to a public school in illinois called granite city high. real hard to guess the city, huh?
in any case, I do have a copy of the student athletic handbook, and the school's rules are in the agenda books they give us, but it doesn't say anything about hair length in either of them. that's why i assumed that there must be some other rulebook.
as far as seeing the AD, I've tried repeatedly. they keep telling me i have to see the head coaches first. the problem with that is that they refuse to see me, or to respond to any of the e-mails and messages I've left them.
thnx for the input, any help you can give will be much appreciated.
Hi Lupi,
That this is a public school gives you more leverage, I think. You have school and athletic handbooks. No policy on hair? Sounds like a done deal. They cannot hold you to secret rules. Public schools are not allowed by law to do that. If they do, you have grounds, I suspect, of a lawsuit.
Print off copies of the emails you have sent to coaches requesting a meeting. Keep hard copies for record's sake. Forward the email you sent to head coaches to the AD and use it as your reason for seeking an appointment with him. The coaches have refused your effort to meet with them. The AD is now next in line. You've followed procedure, and the adults are not responoding in good faith. Use the words "good faith".
What about your parents? Will they help you, support you, go with you to the meeting? And, finally, if you keep hitting a brick wall, look in your local paper and call the reporter for your neighborhood.
Emphasize to each person you talk to your dedication to the team, your hard work, and that you do everything else asked of you. Of course, these things need to be true!
Robert
Lupi,
I've gone to your school website and found the ONLY school rule pertaining to hair as follows:
"Hair should not be worn in curlers, bobby pins, clippie, or arranged or unnaturally colored in such a way as to cause an educational distraction. Hair should not be combed during class or in the cafeteria."
The very typical wording here is that hair should not cause "educational distraction". It's vague wording which gives administrators broad power, BUT, it would be almost impossible to say that long hair was a distraction if there are ANY males with long hair in the building, including teachers. So, I think you are safe here. I will assume from what you have said that the athletic rule book is not different from this. Rule books from sub-groups within a school have to be complementary to the school rules.
It sounds like you have coaches who have private rules, maybe even longstanding unwritten rules that no one has successfully challenged. It may be that the time has come. If you really love playing football, I'd fight this, but do it respectfully. don't give them ANYTHING to use against you. Be polite. Keep hard copies of everything you get in print. If an administrator says something to you orally that is supportive, write him/her a letter the next day thanking him/her for saying (the supportive thing). Save a copy of what you send. This becomes documentation even of an oral conversation.
Robert
Okay, one more thing. I've found the following statement on the school webiste from the Athletic Director:
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
44/p1109421119_245.jpg
A message from your Athletic Director:
"Our goal is for every athlete, team and coach to develop their talents to the fullest and compete to the best of their ability. We believe winning is not just achieved on the scoreboard, but requires the highest standards of conduct from every athlete and coach in our program."
It's dated today! His criteria are two: that you develop your talents, and that you compete to the best of your ability. Nothing there about the length of your hair. It would be his burden to show how the length of your hair worked against your talent or your competition.
Second, he gives the criteria from the state Athletic association for participating in sports at your school:
"In order to be eligible to participate in any school-sponsored athletic or IHSA extra-curricular activity, a student must be a full time Granite City School District #9 student and satisfy the Illinois HIgh School Associations's scholastic standing requirements. Any student-participant failing to meet these academic criteria shall be suspended from the activity until the specified academic criteria are met."
The criteria for participation include:
1) being a full time student
2) living in the district
3) make the required grades
Nothing here about hair length. If you meet the three criteria, and follow all of your coaches instructions regarding football practice, you ought to be allowed to play on the team.
Coach's instructions about the length of your hair fall in the same catagory as his instructions about when or if you pray, with whom you speak on the phone, which books you read. None of his business.
Robert
I do not have time to read all the responses, though I consitentlyh thik what Robert has to say is very wise.
My suggestion is much simplier. Tell your football coach to find another player, and find a different sport for yourself which will keep you in good shape.
This is a simple power play for control. When you are on the field, and playing ball you should follow your coach's directions. When a coach is so immature to attempt to control you off the games site, it is very important that you assert your personal power. If you do not, you will never be a man.
Situations alternative when we must maintain our autonomy and when we must submit to directive. I would never disobey the captain of a ship if he gave me directives about the mechanical operation of the machine. However, if he told me to eat beets I would tell him that everyman reserves the rights to reject on vegatable.
Do not follow directions from your coach which have nothing to do with your performance one the team. Other players will follow your lead, and he will be looking for a new job.
Caledonian
hi thnx for replying. I have thought about what you've said about switching to a different team and all that, and I probably will have to.
the thing that gets me is that this rule IS NOT written. they are expecting me to listen to them just because they said so. don't get me wrong, i usually listen to them, the only thing ive refused to do is to cut my hair.
The unfortunate reality is that coaches do place these restrictions on players and do get away with them under the guise of team bonding, bringing the team closer, etc. Many schools where there are tryouts have a surplus of students wanting to play, and they are willing to lose one or more to maintain their discipline.
My son is a senior in HS in Texas. He has played football in the fall, and soccer in the spring for 3 years. This year the football coach decided that to play football, the soccer players had to quit soccer to attend the football workouts in the spring or they couldn't play. This caused quite a ruckus, and ultimately at the last minute they backed down officially. But it was clearly understood that the soccer players would not play should they make the football team. None of the soccer players are playing football this year.
Sometimes in life difficult decisions have to be made. Whether it be making the team, a job you really want that would boost your career, etc., you have to decide what is important to you in that situation.
My concern for you would be that the athletic director, who will not see you, is also the athletic director over the hockey team. Will you run into the same issue all over again? Will your quitting the football team put you into a bad relationship with the hockey coach? And should you make the team, will the politics of the situation again relagate you to sitting the bench the entire season?
Five years from now you will be able to make the same decisions about your hair. You will never have another chance to play ball in high school. Is that a trade you are willing to make?
I'm not saying this is right. I'm saying this is the way it is. You have to decide what path to take; what your priorities are.
Big George
hi, thnx for replying. at our school there are no tryouts. anyone who shows up gets to play (so long as they have short hair.)
the AD has no power on the hockey team, because it is a park district funded sport. in other words, its not a school sport.
what you said about if it is worth the trade to not cut my hair and play football, that i do not know. i know im gonna regret it if i were to choose one. that's why i'm trying to find away around the rule.
the thing that gets me most about the rule is that it is not written anywhere in which a student is allowed access it to veiw it.
sorry for that ranting.
anyway, several people, online and in person have told me to talk to aclu about this. even the people from http://www.gpac.org/ have told me to contact aclu thinking i may have a case against them.