Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Goodman
Meanwhile, consider that the player is on the football field only a tiny percentage of his time; so he's supposed to change the way he looks during the entire football season just to conform with your idea of how he should look on the field? Besides, what difference does it make to the game how the players look? They have uniforms to tell the teams apart, that's all you need.
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People change the way that they look in order to do their job all the time. The military is the most obvious example but many civilian jobs require strict grooming and appearance standards, and most professional environments will at best look down on persons displaying poor grooming and hygeine habits. As an official I am expected to shave and maintain a conservative haircut, exercise and maintain a clean uniform, as well as a professional appearance when in uniform. I even work with officials who wear skin-colored armbands to conceal tattoos on their arms during games. We're all beholden to certain requirements for various reasons.
Entertainment professionals maintain strict diets, exercise, and alter their grooming or make other adjustments to their bodies because directors or some other person in authority demands it. Football players are just another breed of entertainment professional. As it is, they already spend a vast majority of their time training and conditioning their bodies and minds for their sport, to maximize performance and minimize personal risk. By having and maintaining long, flowing locks of hair, they slow their running--thus hampering their performance--and put themselves at risk.
I'm not saying it should be illegal. I'm just saying it's stupid.