First of all, I have a hard time believer JR is EVER a happy lil camper as he stated in an earlier post!!!
As for grooming standards I know several years ago our HS association had this discussion. It was in fact racial. A white guy wanted to know why a black guy could have a goatee and he was 'encouraged' to shave his. After I opened a can of SPAM we took on this can of worms!! We came to some sort of convoluted agreeement on facial hair but a more firm agreement on what we would 'encourage' our offiicals to do with the hair on top of their head. For starters, bald is ok, since, well some can't help it. (However, on an ADD tangent, I think it has gone overboard b/c now we have more people shaving their heads than combing it!! And don't jump to any conclusions, that goes for both the white guys and the black guys. However, our latino officials seem to enjoy a full head of hair!) No hair lower than shoulder or over ears would be desired for those who have hair. "Mod" or Fadish hair styles would be discouraged, be it a mowhawk, dreads, corn rows (we have/had both white and black officials with them) etc. Against my arguments the mullet was considered a timeless hairstyle and would not be discouraged!! Keep the bangs out of your eyes, b/c heck we have a hard enough time seeing. Facial hair was fine as long as it was neatly trimmed. We did have one of our female officials ask if we could BAN mustaches' b/c then she could write of her lip waxing on her taxes as a business expense!!
As for tattoos, the association asked that they be covered up as best as possible. A friend of mine who works college as well went so far as to have his removed, and his schedule skyrocketed after that!
The bottom line, it is all a matter of perception. Cornrows, tattoos are the items today. In the past it was long hair and beards. As much as I hate conformity it is what I have to do to advance.
And as for military guys, thankfully, some were allowed to grow facial hair where culturally appropriate!! Apparently, I look intimidating in a goatee, but I HATED trying to get that nice straight line under the chin!!

How about men with pony tails? Yes, I've seen 'em out there on the hardwood.

What I stated -- that people of all races are *****ing about grooming standards -- was clearly in the category of not being racial.

Actually it is cultural for African-American/Black men to have facial hair. In other words it is hard to find Black males that have no facial hair. That does not mean everyone has it, but most do. And a great example of this was in my church we had Men's Day services a couple of weeks ago. There are pictures of the Men's Choir which almost had 70 or 80 men. Most had facial hair of some kind. And these are people that are very professional and work in multiple facets of life. I think that is an underlining reason it is accepted for most to have some facial hair. That being said, I do not wear a goatee for basketball. I have in the past, but was asked to remove it so I did. My schedule has gotten better since I have done that.

Peace

I actually was told by someone with regards to a corporate environment, not refereeing, that said people are less likely to trust someone w/ facial hair - there was some study or something in a business journal about it.

So.....would you trust this guy? Better yet - would you ref with him? I'd love to see him work a Coach K game.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/m...h_1213202i.jpg

In Whom Do We Trust ???
 

I've heard this as well. Not that I'm concerned about it, though. I don't like a mustache, and I'm not allowed to wear a goatee.