NHL player forced to cut his hair

bazokajoe

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onomatopoeia

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Not sure if this should be here or in the sports forum.
An NHL player was forced to cut his hair due to team rules.
Personally I think this rule is stupid.
What do you think?
Lou Lamoriello is the General Manager of the New York Islanders. This is a team policy, as decided by him. There is no debate.

Duclair knew about the team policy before signing with the Islanders as a free agent. If his hair was really important to him, he would have signed with a team which has a less stringent code for personal grooming.

Some teams require players to wear jacket and tie when arriving at a stadium/ arena or when traveling with the team. Other teams don't care one way or the other, (basketball players on many teams wear whatever they want in those situations).
 

shack

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What does that have to do with the point I'm making?
It means that even if you don't like some of his decisions, he's got a shit ton of cred compared to anyone here.

Nobody here is in a position to question Lou's choices, especially something so trivial as beards/hair.
 

Robert Mugabe

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Surprising so many brothers in football or any sport actually, have dreads, or braids or whatever they are called, down to their shoulders. Looks uncomfortable and kind of risky.
 

The Oracle

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I'm sure the fact that Duclair put this out on social media is going to piss Lou off.

Duclair has had attitude problems in the past and has bounced around quite a bit because of it...Looks like he's at it again.

Just cut your hair. You knew what the stipulations were before you signed the contract.
 
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Zoot Allures

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But what if long hair is cultural or religious? Sikhs wear long hair for religion and Muslims wear beards because the prophets did and it is cultural with native Americans and black men wearing braids

I could oppose wearing suits and short hair as that puts me into a cultural group I do not feel I am part of IE corporate America, evangelical groups.

As far as telling Lamoriello to join another team get real - pro sports are at, the very least, an oligopoly that drafts you without your permission and players had to fight for a union so the teams have to forgo their rights to demand workers behave like they want them to
 

OntarioHappyJohn

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What does that have to do with the point I'm making?
To quote Herm Edwards…..”Hello?! You play, to win, the game”

Non winners will never understand the value of a team ethos and how it contributes to a winning culture. It’s why the media cries so much about players getting haircuts and wearing suits.
 

Zoot Allures

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I'm sure the fact that Duclair put this out on social media is going to piss Lou off.

Duclair has had attitude problems in the past and has bounced around quite a bit because of it...Looks like he's at it again.

Just cut your hair. You knew what the stipulations were before you signed the contract.
But what if long hair is cultural or religious? Sikhs wear long hair for religion and Muslims wear beards because the prophets did and it is cultural with native Americans and black men wearing braids

I could oppose wearing suits and short hair as that puts me into a cultural group I do not feel I am part of IE corporate America, evangelical groups etc.

As far as telling Lamoriello to join another team get real - pro sports are at, the very least, an oligopoly that drafts you without your permission and players had to fight for a union so the teams have to forgo their rights to demand workers look like they want them to
 

onomatopoeia

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But what if long hair is cultural or religious? Sikhs wear long hair for religion and Muslims wear beards because the prophets did and it is cultural with native Americans and black men wearing braids

I could oppose wearing suits and short hair as that puts me into a cultural group I do not feel I am part of IE corporate America, evangelical groups.

As far as telling Lamoriello to join another team get real - pro sports are at, the very least, an oligopoly that drafts you without your permission and players had to fight for a union so the teams have to forgo their rights to demand workers behave like they want them to
This is irrelevant for this thread. Duclair signed with the Islanders as a free agent. Clearly the Islanders have a team image that they want to project to their fan base, and that image is crafted by Lamoriello, with the approval of those to whom he is accountable.

There is a tendency, especially among the young, to think that they do not need to conform to rules with which they do not personally agree. This could be something like owning an un-neutered pitbull dog in an apartment building, or having to ask customers if they would like to have a hot apple pie with their happy meal. All too often, someone will appease anyone who complains or protests, just to shut them up.

Some people deny the toddler a chocolate bar at the grocery checkout counter, even if the child throws a tantrum. When parents cave in to the young drama kings and queens, those behaviors often continue into adulthood, when chronological age is used to make that distinction.

Surprising so many brothers in football or any sport actually, have dreads, or braids or whatever they are called, down to their shoulders. Looks uncomfortable and kind of risky.
Anyone who carries the ball in football is a fool if they have long dreads hanging out of the back of their helmets. Many defenders will gladly take the fifteen yard penalty associated with tackling an opponent by the hair.
 

onomatopoeia

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But what if long hair is cultural or religious? Sikhs wear long hair for religion and Muslims wear beards because the prophets did and it is cultural with native Americans and black men wearing braids ...
When there's a Sihk or a Muslim good enough to play in the NHL, that will be relevant. There are a lot of great Indian hockey players, but they all play field hockey.

The Sikh would not be able to wear a ceremonial dagger in his belt. He could also wear an extra large helmet, to accommodate a turban, and other players would refer to his as "Gazoo".

My mom made me wear a toque under my helmet when I played Atom B hockey in 1969-70 and 1970-71, and I spent half of each game trying to push the hat away from my eyes with the thumb of my glove. A turbaned Sihk might have that same problem.
 

Zoot Allures

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This is irrelevant for this thread. Duclair signed with the Islanders as a free agent. Clearly the Islanders have a team image that they want to project to their fan base, and that image is crafted by Lamoriello, with the approval of those to whom he is accountable.
I think you missed the depth of my point. Pro sports are not free enterprise - they are very close to a monopoly

Monopolies cannot not do what companies can do in the free enterprise

Even if he chose to play there as a FA, he only had one choice which is play within a monopoly or do not play

If you do not accept my thesis look at the Leafs. Toronto area could easily support one, if not two, more NHL teams but the Leafs do not want to give up their right to control their turf so fans are gouged .

Try to do that in the free enterprise!


Some people deny the toddler a chocolate bar at the grocery checkout counter, even if the child throws a tantrum. When parents cave in to the young drama kings and queens, those behaviors often continue into adulthood, when chronological age is used to make that distinction.
Comparing taking away the rights of self identity
to a spoiled child is very misplaced

If this was Canada's womans hockey team would it be acceptable to force them to wear a dress?
 
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Zoot Allures

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When there's a Sihk or a Muslim good enough to play in the NHL, that will be relevant. There are a lot of great Indian hockey players, but they all play field hockey.
Same principal as you have no idea why he wants to wear long hair

The Sikh would not be able to wear a ceremonial dagger in his belt. He could also wear an extra large helmet, to accommodate a turban, and other players would refer to his as "Gazoo".
What if it is baseball ?
 

shack

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My point is that he's a dinosaur i.e. really really old, meaning he's stubborn and set in his ways. He ain't going to change how things are done even if his rules are dumb. The fact that he's a first ballot hall of famer has nothing to do with the point I'm trying to make bruh.
Are you saying that he's not capable of doing his job? He doesn't know how to run an NHL team because of his hair policy?
 

onomatopoeia

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Even if he chose to play there as a FA, he only had one choice which is play within a monopoly or do not play
If someone joins the Marines, the maximum hair length will be determined by the Corps, not the maggot.

Duclair was a free agent. He could have chosen in play in the Russian, Swedish, Italian, German, Swiss or UK leagues. Chances are excellent that he would have been offered less than $14 Million for four years of indentured servitude if he had taken one of those roads instead.

There are NHL teams which don't have hair length policies. If keeping his dreads was vitally important to him, Duclair might have signed with one of those teams, if he hasn't already burned those bridges with his attitude problems. The Islanders are his ninth NHL team in his 11th NHL season. That alone should tell you that he was not considered indispensable elsewhere.
 
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onomatopoeia

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Same principal as you have no idea why he wants to wear long hair


What if it is baseball ?
The Sihk would not be able to wear a ceremonial dagger in his belt if he was a baseball player.

In Cricket, wearing a helmet is not mandatory, and it's actually quite common for batsmen to play without one, in certain situations. If it's ungodly hot in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Australia, and the bowler is a 'spinner', it's quite safe. Most spin bowlers don't top 65 MPH with their deliveries. They generally enter the game when the ball is in rough condition, and there are a lot of cracks and loose patches of dirt on the pitch, close to the batsman. They often try to hit a crack or loose patch with the ball, so the bounce will be unpredictable.

 

Zoot Allures

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The Sihk would not be able to wear a ceremonial dagger in his belt if he was a baseball player.
Wrong

The courts would decide not the team.

I suspect the courts would decide in favor of the Sikh as long as dagger was not real for a real one would be a weapon. I do not see how they could rule otherwise
 

onomatopoeia

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Wrong

The courts would decide not the team.

I suspect the courts would decide in favor of the Sikh as long as dagger was not real for a real one would be a weapon. I do not see how they could rule otherwise
Nope.

The Commissioner of Baseball would decide. Courts have no jurisdiction in professional sports, except when there is a criminal code violation. Playing for a professional sports team is not a right. Prospective players can be excluded for any of a number of reasons, the most common of which is lack of talent. Associating with gamblers and domestic battery allegations are the #2 and #3 reasons, followed by social media posts critical of the 'Alphabet Community '.
 
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