So would it not then benefit players (particularly RBs) to grow their hair down to their...umm...butts? By your logic, the defenders could not go for the back at all since they run the risk of pulling the extremely long hair and, by extension (no pun intended), bending the neck.

A facemask is required by rule... long hair and/or beards are not.

Don't see any issue with the rule as is. If a player doesn't want his hair pulled, then wear in a fashion that doesn't allow it to be pulled as easily or cut it short. I also don't see the issue w/allowing defenders to pull the hair...nothing says a player has to wear their hair long....unlike a facemask which is required (as jtheump said).

No, there's no problem with that, any more than by putting a hand on an opponent's frame one commits a holding foul. There's a big difference between having one's hand or arm touch someone's dangling hair on the one hand and pulling a pony tail on the other. If you can tell the difference between pulling someone's shirt and using an open-palm technique to block, it shouldn't be hard to distinguish hair pulling from legal contact with hair.

If this is thought still to be too dangerous for the player's neck, hair could be required to be tucked into a shirt the same way a medical alert pendant can be secured.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's legal to tackle a player by grasping the back of his jersey. If you make grasping hair illegal, you will give a serious advantage to long-haired player as the back of the jersey will not be a legal area to tackle them, lest their hair be grasped.

Tucking the hair into the jersey isn't practical as it won't stay there if not secured and if secured sufficiently, the player wouldn't be able to turn his head freely.

You can't tell the difference between grabbing the jersey and grabbing hair? You don't think a player reaching for a jersey can avoid grabbing hair? A pony tail would practically have to be glued down to the cloth to be an obstacle to a player trying to grab cloth.

Given that there is no actual book definition to define what a HEAD is (please tell me we don't need one ... egads), I see no justification for expanding the rules regarding the head to include hair. You would not penalize a hair-slap. You would not penalize a player that tried to tackle a runner and only contacted hair.

Hair is connected to your head ... but so is (eventually) the rest of your body.

I think I'd consider the "head" to be the part of the body covered by a helmet (in fact, some of the rules state helmet, not head, and the terms are interchangeable).

No. Not if the hair is between him and the jersey.

It makes no sense at all, from any point of view, to allow a player to gain any advantage at all by growing his hair long.

What pony tail? Under your rule, no player would do anything to secure their hair. It would be one solid sheet of hair across the back. You wouldn't be able to see, let alone grasp the jersey without hair interfering.

haircollar tackle!!!

Hmm...wasn't thinking about that possibility. In that case the hair shouldn't be considered part of the head.

Say...what about playing a gorilla whose uniform is painted on its hair?

Don't you think that players can tell the difference between grabbing a face mask and grabbing a jersey? Yet, diving players grab face masks all the time, despite the fact that face masks are much smaller than jerseys. I agree that it is a safety issue for players to be tackled by the hair....which is why the onus is on the player with long hair to "control" it (either cutting it or finding a way to secure it in their helmet).

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.

what is we had a ZZ Top type beard? Can I tackle him by the beard and what if is mouthguard comes out because his beard was wrapped in it. Do we have facemasking? Wow, think of the rules we could come up with if we just thought more like the IRS! :)

Yes but they'll call you a Rough Boy.