Why Are So Many NFL Players Growing Really Long Hair?
- Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:00pm by
Scott Baker
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Gimme head with hair,
Long, beautiful hair.
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen.
Give me down to there hair,
Shoulder length or longer.
— Lyrics from the musical, “Hair”
___
Hair is where it’s at if you want to stand out in the NFL.
From Troy Polamalu‘s thick mass of curls to Domata Peko’s fluffy, lionlike mane to Chris Johnson‘s dreads to Clay Matthews’ grunge look, players all over the NFL are going long.
Coaches, too. This means you, Rob Ryan.
“I see around the league a lot of guys are growing the hair out, not only Samoans but dudes with blond hair and dreadlocks and stuff like that,” said Peko, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle whose hair reaches all the way down to his waist. “It’s pretty cool. It’s good to see.”
It wasn’t so long ago that there were only a handful of long hairs in the league, and just one or two with truly eye-catching ‘dos. When Larry Johnson yanked Polamalu down by his hair in 2006 on a 49-yard interception return, it set off a buzz about whether hair pulling was legal. It is. The NFL considers hair part of the uniform.
Now cascading tresses — tamed, braided and otherwise — are everywhere.
Nearly every team has at least one player with hair long enough to obscure his name on the back of the uniform. The Arizona Cardinals are the unofficial league leader in hirsuteness, with eight. (It was nine, but receiver Steve Breaston shaved his head this week.) Even New England’s Tom Brady, he of chiseled good looks, is hip to long-is-better, though some have questioned the wisdom of his Justin Bieber-esque shag.
In fact, so many players have grown their hair that fans could have an All-Hair fantasy team.
“I think that football players have really started to want to their own identity on the field. I mean who can tell who is who with all those bulky helmets on?” said Michael Shaun Corby, a celebrity hair stylist and global creative director for Alterna Professional Haircare.
“People have looked up to these guys since they were young teenagers,” Corby added. “Now I think they are just taking that superstar persona to the next level and giving themselves a unique and more trend-conscious style.”
The reasons are as varied as the looks.
Some, like Peko and Polamalu, do it because it’s part of their culture. Peko is from American Samoa, where long hair is the norm for men, and Polamalu also has Samoan roots.
“If you have short hair out there, people are like, ‘What’s up, dude? Why aren’t you growing your hair?’” said Peko, who has been growing his hair since he was a kid.
Some, like Miami Dolphins cornerback Benny Sapp, do it as a nod to what’s fashionable in their hometown (Fort Lauderdale). Others are looking for low-maintenance style.
“I just get up, shake it and I’m out the door,” said Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, who’s been growing his hair
AP
And some guys simply like the look.
“We were playing the University of Miami and I just saw the way they looked. … They were shaking their hair and I was like, ‘That looks good.’ And then when they put their helmets on, it looked great coming out of the back of their helmets,” said Dallas Cowboys receiver Jesse Holley, whose dreadlocks now reach down to the middle of his back.
“It makes me feel like I’m running fast,” Holley added. “When I have my hair out, I feel like a lion. It puts you in that wild, warrior-type mentality.”
Despite all that hair flying around, it’s rare for a player to be brought down when someone grabs a handful of it. Make no mistake, however. There’s still enough hair pulling and twisting on the field to rival the kindergarten set.
Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Ed Wang, who recently trimmed his waist-length hair to the middle of his back, said his hair would get pulled “on every play” when it was longer — and that was in practice, by his own teammates. After Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl kick returner Joshua Cribbs was pulled down by his hair, possibly saving a touchdown, Cribbs now trims his hair so opponents can’t get a good grip on it. And Holley and Johnson said they’ve had individual dreadlocks yanked out.
“After the game, I‘m walking off the field and I’ll look down at the ground and see a piece of my hair,” said Johnson, the 2009 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year. “It’s like, ‘Hey, when did that come out?’”
While it may seem strange to see all this long hair alongside close-cropped guys such as Brian Urlacher, Chad Ochocinco and Matt Hasselbeck, no one’s been ordered to cut it off. It‘s what’s cool now, much like the wildcat offense, and coaches have learned to adapt.
“It’s a part of our culture now. I’m used to it,” Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “If I could grow my hair that long I’d consider it.”
Besides, fans love it. Polamalu‘s ’do is so famous it has its own website, and Head & Shoulders has insured his hair for $1 million. There are Facebook pages devoted just to Matthews‘ and Peko’s hair. Kids all over Cleveland donned dreadlock wigs and went as Cribbs for Halloween.
After the Steelers-Bengals game Monday night, someone combed through the footage and posted a series of clips of the one play where Peko, in a rare appearance as a fullback, lined up against Polamalu, calling it, “When Two Great Heads Of Hair Meet, Only One Can Survive.” Peko flattened Polamalu on the play, helping clear the way for a Bengals touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 27-21 win — a hair-raising play that would have impressed Vince Lombardi AND Vidal Sassoon.
“I’m walking around the stores or eating dinner, and people just come up to me and say, ‘Dude, can I touch your hair?’ ” Peko said. “That’s pretty funny.”
___
AP Sports Writers Howard Ulman, Joseph White, Dave Ginsburg, Dennis Waszak Jr., Alan Robinson, Mike Cranston, Steve Wine, Fred Goodall, Teresa M. Walker, Brett Martel, Paul Newberry, Joe Kay, Tom Withers, Larry Lage, Mike Marot, Chris Jenkins, Jon Krawczynski, Doug Tucker, Jaime Aron, Arnie Stapleton, Bob Baum, Tim Booth, Janie McCauley and Josh Dubow, Associated Press Writer Schuyler Dixon and AP freelancer Bob Matuszak contributed to this report.
___
Online:
http://www.troyshair.com
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Comments (114)
twolaneflash
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 3:22pmBack in the day, they were sissies, then hippies, now they’re “culture-warriors”. There‘s a reason it’s called a “subculture”. It’s part of the pseudo-warrior-gangsta-wanna-be-thug mentality. And the hair, with a few exceptions, is called “a weave” where other people’s hair, or a lower-cost polyester substitute, is woven into your own. They are as ugly as old men with ill-fitting rugs perched on a bald spot. It‘s a nasty mess that can’t be thoroughly cleaned – reminds me of the 1960′s when big-haired women got cockroaches and other infestations in the closed-environment of their spray-constructed head-helmets. Dad would have called them punks.
Report Post »RobR
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 3:16pmSee and I thought they were all just turning gay….
Report Post »welovetheUSA
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 3:11pmThey must be gay………looks stupid.
Report Post »George1
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:50pmI like it, i think it looks pretty cool. My hair is pretty long, too, but as a mulatto it doesn’t hang down like that. Have some respect for other people’s decisions, we don’t need so much anger and hatred over something like hair length; that era is dead and gone.
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 4:51pmThe hair-pulling is totally cool, dude!
Our troops should be PC and wear their hair long, like the prophet Muhammad.
Check this out:
Report Post »http://www.nowpublic.com/world/simran-lamba-first-u-s-army-graduate-30-years-turban-allowed-2726444.html
paperpushermj
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:42pmGimme head with hair,
Long, beautiful hair.
Shining, gleaming,
Streaming, flaxen, waxen.
Give me down to there hair,
Shoulder length or longer.
— LONG HAIR WAS REQUESTED BY THE DEFENSIVE MEMBERS OF THE OTHER TEAM
Report Post »Inmyopinion
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:33pmAdmittedly, I am not a football expert. But wouldn’t it be handy to pull him by the ponytail out of your way? Are there rules against this technique? Or could you pull a player down by the pontail? Ouch.
Report Post »GrumpyCat
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 9:03pmThe article says the NFL has ruled that hair is part of the uniform and is legal to grab when tackling the ball carrier. The facemask has a separate set of rules.
Report Post »rhymer
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:12pm“Long-haired, dope smoking, maggot-infested, hippie liberals” … according to RUSH, are bringing down this country to the socialist agenda! I never thought the NFL would be the biggest supporter of the Marxist regime! Long hair on 300 pound gorillas is not a pretty thing! Next, we will find that these same “individuals” will want to make a statement with a tattoo or two, or three, or four! But I can’t imagine that ever catching on anywhere … especially the NFL. Have I missed something? Tattoos aren’t next for these girlie men????
Report Post »shorthanded12
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:08pmWhen some one in the NFL is seriously injured Like having there necks broke because someone will grab there hair and snap there heads Than maybe the NFL will clean there act up. NFL has become the “NO FUN LEAGUE” Major League Baseball is as boring as the NFL anymore where in the hell is ALL the American born ball players? Every dayum team is so stacked with foriegn born Hispanics I think Im watching the Central American Hispanic League. Oh yea while Im at it lets take The National Basketball League. 70 % black 18% foriegn born players and less than 10% white (Americans). Just sayin!!!!!!! Professsional Sports has become boring and I grew up on The Big Red Machine/Hank Aaron of the 70′s, the Larry Birds and Michael Jordans of the 80/90′s. Im not the only one who feels the same about the NFL, NBA, MLB talked to to many people over the years and they feel the same way, I’m just one that will call it how I see it. Clean your act up NFL.
Report Post »grayjohn
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:59pmWhatever happened to the concept of Team? Uniformity, working as a unit, no room for individualism?
Report Post »Great way to be apart from the team and still get paid. Oh well, football and jocks are as phony in 2010 as they were in 1964 when I learned to despise them both.
eteme
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:47pmmost of the “long hair” is in fact other peoples long hair. As most of these whackers use extensions like their female counterparts… soon their will be pulling like drunk cat fights in a bar.. all it will take is someone to have their hair ripped off their head to make it illegal for football players.
Report Post »Rob
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:43pmA bunch of over-hyped thugs… I don’t watch, nor care.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:34pmtim to take their helmets OFF and play without helmets with that ”warrior” mentality. may as well. too bad we cannot have a league that goes back to plain ol’ American white guys football. get Terry Bradshaw and Dick Butkus types back in there.
Glock45
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:32pmNFL home of the huge, overpaid ego’s on parade, that is why I only watch college football where they are still broke and hungry.
Report Post »McCloud54
Posted on November 15, 2010 at 5:47amBroke? tell that to Cam Newton and Reggie Bush. And it also sounds like you’re holding their success against them…
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:31pmit’s stupid, it’s ugly, and it’s really nothing but more ghetto crap brought into the sport.
Report Post »J.C. McGlynn
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:30pmHair must have really gone up in price.
Report Post »TeaPartyPatriot
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:29pm“Why Are So Many NFL Players Growing Really Long Hair?”
These low-IQ cretins have nothing better to do than play monkey-see–monkey-do.
Report Post »wodiej
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:24pmnot attractive.
Report Post »EyebrowsLaMana
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:19pmEwwww, long hair on a dude, just ewww.
Report Post »squeaker
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:19pmI stopped watching teams that have long hair a long time ago. It tells me they don’t respect their team.
Report Post »MommaGrizzly
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:17pmSlow news day? I don’t know how they can play with their hair in their face.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:15pmIn other words a crutch. Figures. No one, it seems, has the skill, motivation and character these days to perform with out a crutch of one type or another.
Report Post »HouseNegro
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:15pmIt’s to damn hard to cut Nappy Hair……………….
WhiteFang
Posted on November 15, 2010 at 6:07pmReal men do not have hair like a woman. 1 Corinthians 11:14-15
Report Post »PAAM
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:13pmGreat story if they donate to “Locks of Love” @ the end of the season!
Report Post »what4
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:36pmThese overpaid dummies dont have the balls to do that….to nobel, and doesn’t benifit themselves or their agent…aint gonna happen! In simple english to those long haired NFL’ers, I dare you to do it!
Report Post »IronDioPriest
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:12pmI call it the NFL “Hair Cape”. When protruding from beneath the helmet, it looks like a little fringe cape cascading down their back from the neck.
Perhaps it is aerodynamic, or even super-hero-esque?
Really, they look like fools. If I were a head coach or a team owner, the Hair Cape would be disallowed on my team. I‘m quite surprised there’s not a lot more hair-pulling going on in the trenches.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:10pmMaybe that is it .. they think it gets in the way of a tackle … who wants to get wound up in it? I think they should allow hair pulling and then see how long they want to have the long hair. (and how many times I can incorporate “long” in my reply)
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 5:12pmI have to say.. never like competition from a guy on the long hair thing.. I personally think it’s funny.. now they look like a bunch of GIRLS out on the field.. No matter what their excuse if they get there hair pulled TO BAD just wait BITING and NAIL SCRATCHING IS NEXT..LOL..
Report Post »ishka4me
Posted on November 15, 2010 at 11:13amthey are not overpaid, they bring in the money. we overpay. The amount of revenue shows they are actually underpaid from what we are willing to pay for nfl apparel, tickets, and cable costs for the right to broadcast the games. If they have long hair, it is none of my business.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:06pmBecause of the high cost of haircuts and shrinking wages.
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:13pmForgot to add the higher union dues too.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {mix art}
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:15pmMaybe they could not find a decent barber?
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:27pmwell lets see…………you have a bunch of men in tights bending over and playing grab-ass ……….it was inevitable that some would learn that if you grew their hair, that grab-ass would turn to caresses lol
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:50pmI just figured the were feminizing the teams – can’t hit, wearing pink (yes, I know it was for a good cause, just kidding), next thing you know it will be professional flag football.
Report Post »Fletch
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 1:54pmbecause the NFL now plays a PC girly sport
Report Post »rebel
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:32pmlol good responses!
Report Post »5
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 2:57pmThey are cross dressers and don’t need wigs and 1/2 are Gay as Barney Frank.
Report Post »oldoldtimer
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 5:09pmAdd your comments
Report Post »oldoldtimer
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 5:14pmWarrior? My idea of a warrior is short cropped hair and an M-4. Not some stringy haired prima dona that thinks he is a god just because he can play ball. The only ball player I ever really respected was Tillman. That was a warrior who loved his country and made the ultimate scrifice. How many of these spoiled pampered ball players can pony up to that kind of manliness?
Report Post »Robert W
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 7:50pmSamson delusion?
Report Post »SgtBarrett
Posted on November 14, 2010 at 9:21pmOldtimer, you are dead on. This is another example of the feminization of American men. Embrace your feminine side and all that rubbish.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 15, 2010 at 10:00amHow odd that so many consider men with long hair as effeminate. Apparently they haven’t noticed the pony tails on a lot of the Founding Fathers and patriots of the revolutionary war times. American Indians were also extremely masculine warrior types and had long hair to the last man. In fact, as I check history, lots of Scots and Irish warriors had long locks back in the day. Custer – Long hair. 17th and 18th century pirates, lots of long hair. Ted Nugent/Hank Williams Jr – long hair. Hmmm. Seems to me, and I’m going out on a limb here, that long hair on a guy has nothing to do with his masculinity.
As to warriors/football, yeah, that does seem like a stretch to equate the two. Football players at that level tend to think way too highly of their place in life. They forget that they are paid lots of money to essentially goof off. Yes, I know it’s a tough game, but at the end of the day it’s still a game. Warriors shoot and kill people for a living, looking at the enemy straight in the eye and ending his life. Bit of a difference.
Report Post »ME
Posted on November 15, 2010 at 3:11pm@oldoldtimer
Right on:)
plus long hair and beard you may have a viking look but long hair and clean shave and its just a tranny look and that is what the NFL is starting to look like waring pink and clean shaved long hair wimps.
Report Post »oldoldtimer
Posted on November 16, 2010 at 9:25amGHOST they wore long hair because there were no good barbers. And you are right they had it in a pony tail not down and flowing like a woman. Any one that thinks that kinky knotted strigy mess looks good has absolutely no senses of style.
Report Post »MostlyUphill
Posted on December 14, 2010 at 8:22pmBecause they’re a bunch of overgrown boys who play games for a highly overpaid living, then threaten to hold the public up for even more $$$ when an average family can’t afford to go to a Pro game now! They are a bunch of wimps who collapse if they are touched, whine for sympathy (and more $$$, much of which goes for drugs, gambling and women…if not dog fighting) and now want us to think of them as “Sampson’s” Not like;y… they look like girly boys.
Report Post »We watch COLLEGE football. It’s much more honest, rough and tumble game. Sorta like . . . well, like FOOTBALL used to be in the NFL!