TAMPA – The Boss must be spinning in his grave.
Hal Steinbrenner announced Friday morning that the Yankees are getting rid of their long-standing facial hair policy – which dated back to 1976 under George Steinbrenner – moving to allow “well-groomed beards moving forward.”
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in a statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years. Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward.
“It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
While it remains to be seen how “well-groomed” will be defined, the move will give players some more freedom after previously being limited to mustaches being the only facial hair allowed.
The policy also includes a rule about no hair below the collar, though that appears to still be the case.
Some players had pushed the limits of the facial hair policy in recent years, growing more than five o’clock shadows, with manager Aaron Boone having to remind them at times that it was time to shave.
New closer Devin Williams did not seem thrilled about having to shave his beard off on the first day of workouts last week, keeping it until the last possible moment and still sporting some stubble earlier this week during the team’s photo day.
Don Mattingly was infamously benched for a game in 1991 when he refused to cut his hair.
“I have nothing against long hair per se,” George told The New York Times in 1978, “but I’m trying to instill a certain sense of order and discipline in the ball club, because I think discipline is important in an athlete. The players can joke about it, as long as they do it. If they don’t do it, we’ll try to find a way to accommodate them somewhere else. I want to develop pride in the players as Yankees. If we can get them to feel that way and think that way, fine. If they can’t, we’ll get rid of them.”
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