You didn’t even click the link did you?
The rule is admittedly about controlling the look of the athletes. That’s not up for debate.
OT: HS wrestling rule on hair length
- Thread starter tico brown
- Start date
You didn’t even click the link did you?
The rule is admittedly about controlling the look of the athletes. That’s not up for debate.
Not defending a rule but if it's a rule you have to abide by it. If I have braces and no mouthpiece then I deserve to forfeit. If ref doesn't catch it it's luck but you have to be prepared. Same thing with hair cover
Admitted by who? Chance the rapper? That's an opinion piece. It absolutely is 'up for debate'. Long hair is a safety issue.
Read the link. You just confused Anthony clarke, a member of the national federationof high schools rules committee for chance the rapper.
Especially the lefties who think that the media is out to get only them, the media repeatedly lies only to them, and subjects only them to public scorn and ridicule through reporting of the news.
When Christmas season hits, these same lefties also think that Christmas is deliberately being taken away from them from "other forces."
I guess that I don't have enough information in this case to conclusively know, but I do know the facts that I've been presenting, as being reported to us in the news.
Are the media my friends? As I said earlier, I have a friend who's a journalist, but, outside of that, yes, I thank God for responsible media and reporters everyday of my life. Without which, it'd be a pretty difficult world to try to figger out what is happening in it.
Okay, I've given this a lot of thought and spoken with a few of my wrestling connections. Here is my emotion-free description of what I think happened, flavored by a lifetime in this sport.
The previous weekend the kid competed with his headcover. He was warned that they would let it slide this time, but his headcover did not comply with the rules (this is thirdhand, I can't swear that he was warned, but I do know that it did not comply with the rules).
For this match, I'm guessing that the referee did the hair check and was told that the kid would wear his headcover when he wrestled.
When the kid was about to step onto the mat the referee noticed the haircover did not comply with the rules and wouldn't let him wrestle until he fixed the problem. The only way to fix it was find a legal headcover or cut his hair.
For non-wrestling people -- forced haircuts in the sport are not uncommon. Neither is wrestling with long hair using a proper headcover. These type of rules about hair (and many other things) have been in place long before I got into the sport in the late seventies, and I've seen them enforced many times with kids of all races (but mostly white).
If I were the referee I probably would have let it go, but it is a rule and always has been.
The previous weekend the kid competed with his headcover. He was warned that they would let it slide this time, but his headcover did not comply with the rules (this is thirdhand, I can't swear that he was warned, but I do know that it did not comply with the rules).
For this match, I'm guessing that the referee did the hair check and was told that the kid would wear his headcover when he wrestled.
When the kid was about to step onto the mat the referee noticed the haircover did not comply with the rules and wouldn't let him wrestle until he fixed the problem. The only way to fix it was find a legal headcover or cut his hair.
For non-wrestling people -- forced haircuts in the sport are not uncommon. Neither is wrestling with long hair using a proper headcover. These type of rules about hair (and many other things) have been in place long before I got into the sport in the late seventies, and I've seen them enforced many times with kids of all races (but mostly white).
If I were the referee I probably would have let it go, but it is a rule and always has been.
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This from the admin on an NJ high school wrestling forum:
This is the last post on hair gate all others will be deleted. First the story should be "wrestler cuts his hair for team " What A.M. did was follow the rule. This young man and coach were told it's an illegal hair cover in pre meet talk. The ref did not make him cut his hair. The ref deducted 1 team point and started the injury clock as per the RULES when young man came out with hair cover he knew was illegal. coaches and wrestlers decided to cut hair. Time to move on. There will be no comments or other post on the subject. It has run its course.
Thank you
Your admin
This is the last post on hair gate all others will be deleted. First the story should be "wrestler cuts his hair for team " What A.M. did was follow the rule. This young man and coach were told it's an illegal hair cover in pre meet talk. The ref did not make him cut his hair. The ref deducted 1 team point and started the injury clock as per the RULES when young man came out with hair cover he knew was illegal. coaches and wrestlers decided to cut hair. Time to move on. There will be no comments or other post on the subject. It has run its course.
Thank you
Your admin
If this was the case, the coach and the young man shouldve gotten the proper head gear for the young man. Im sure their Athletic Department shouldve had some in stock or should have had some extras since this kid is probably not the only one with long hair.
And if they met during weigh ins or pre match, ref shoulve told the staff and the kid right then and there that the head covering is not legal. Not during the match when everyone thought it was ok.
Total clusterf*** all around.
The previous weekend he wrestled without his head cover. I am not sure if he was told he could not wear the headcover because it was not a correct cover or if the refs did not think his hair was non-compliant. The hair description in the rule book needs to be changed, it is poorly worded.
Not uh, it was RACIST! The ref was racist, the coach was racist, the crowd was racist, the sport is racist!
Without knowing the facts, or maybe purposely not including facts that don't fit their narrative, the media has turned this into something it's not.
And there you go. This is why I don't like when people jump straight to the race card. They see black/white and conclude their verdict of racism without any facts. The media throws the word "racism" around too loosely in this day and age. A word which can have serious repercussions even if found innocent.
Seems to be a total cluster f*** by just the coach and kid. He was talked to about the illegal head cover in a pre-match met. The coach sent the kid out with that same illegal cover and the kid knew it as well. Maloney did his job during the meet giving them the options of find a legal cover, forfeit or cut the hair.
Yeah, you were right about how you approached this. I didn't go full race card by any means, but I was unhappy with Maloney. Now it appears that he wasn't Satan that day after all...
We are too quick to remove people from their positions .. the coach before this guy and the coach after are both human beings and therefore have flaws, we need to stop pretending like people can’t make mistakes .
Accept mistakes , forgive, learn from them and move on
Maybe the coach needs to cop to this 1st, he's letting everyone else take the hit...
You don't use the N word in jesting with someone unless you're very, very close & maybe not even then. Nice try.
From a N.Y. Times article
Ron Roberts, another wrestling referee and a member of the same association chapter, said he had spoken to Mr. Maloney on Friday about what had happened and that Mr. Maloney was “just upset about the situation,” which he believed had been taken out of context.
Mr. Roberts, a graduate of Buena High School who has been a wrestling official for more than 20 years, said that he visited the team last week to review the rules.
When he was there, he said he told Mr. Johnson and another student with long hair that they would need proper hair coverings to compete.
“I told them in front of the coach,” he said. “So the awareness of the hair was brought up by myself last week.”
And where did I say it was OK? It was an isolated incident if there was more or a pattern the media would have bore that out. There wasn't, however they tried to link one isolated incident at a party where I'm sure alcohol was involved as they were arguing over homemade wine with this incident because it involved white/black parties. But nice try, trying to change the conversation since it's now clear this wasn't a race related incident.
At least there were other refs there who could officiate the alteration.
It's about the rule. Hair cannot be longer than a certain length..
Exactly..but he local, regional, and national news will run with it just like Politi and the other hacks do.
True that it should have been handled prior, but it wasnt. Is it correct that this wrestler was just about to step on the mat? If so, the time was ticking and he risked a forfeit if he didn't get back within the allotted time. How bout this? Said wrestler and coach should know the rule. Is there any culpability on their part?. Can we call them ignorant? Or just call the ref enforcing the rule that both should know a jackass?
Huh? Guy's hair is past the required length..that's not about race. He supposedly didn't have the proper hair covering...who's fault was that? If white guys were allowed to wrestle with long hair while black guys couldn't, then you have an argument...otherwise, the rule is the rule.
Well I'll be damned...if that's the truth, who is willing to eat their words?.. Yet the accused ref gets ostracized because someone took a cell phone video which was broadcast throughout the nation. SMH.
Another update to the story :
"Speziali alleged in the statement that the referee, Alan Maloney, who is white, was late to the Dec. 19 meet and missed weigh-ins. Wrestlers are typically inspected for violations prior to the start of the meet, Speziali said. When Maloney did evaluate Johnson, he did not raise any issue with the length of the teen’s hair or the need for him to wear a head covering, Speziali said."
"Johnson’s brother, Nate Johnson, who is also on the wrestling team, said in the statement that after weigh-ins, the referee told him that the brothers would need to wear a head covering or face disqualification, according to Speziali."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-who-was-forced-cut-dreadlocks-blames-n951666
Is it me, or do those 2 quoted statements above contradict each other?
"Speziali alleged in the statement that the referee, Alan Maloney, who is white, was late to the Dec. 19 meet and missed weigh-ins. Wrestlers are typically inspected for violations prior to the start of the meet, Speziali said. When Maloney did evaluate Johnson, he did not raise any issue with the length of the teen’s hair or the need for him to wear a head covering, Speziali said."
"Johnson’s brother, Nate Johnson, who is also on the wrestling team, said in the statement that after weigh-ins, the referee told him that the brothers would need to wear a head covering or face disqualification, according to Speziali."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-who-was-forced-cut-dreadlocks-blames-n951666
Is it me, or do those 2 quoted statements above contradict each other?
They do.
Like so many commenting on this out there in Internetland, the lawyer seems not to know the first thing about how wrestling matches are conducted. Aren't there any wrestlers with law degrees?
Regardless of what happened or did not happen immediately prior to the match, it appears the wrestler and coach were made aware of the hair length issue and the need for a regulation hair covering a week prior. They both chose to ignore that need.
Nevermind that they were told last week. How long has this rule existed in NJ?
Forever. I’m in my 40’s and I vividly remember in 7th grade a teammate being told to cut his hair back when that mullet/spiked look was in. Frustrating cause the kid actually refused to cut it and he forfeited the weight. Coach was sooo pissed.
The media profits off of creating fear? No, the media profits off of maximizing controversy, whichever direction it goes. Profiting off of fear is the mantra of the Republican Party.
Oh geez ..now we gotta hear about politics on a wrestling forum ...really !!!
I think the ref did it because of hair envy. He's as bald as a plucked chicken.
That is not true ..he did not have the hair covering needed to wrestle ..the ref is an asshat for sure and was late for weigh ins so it wasn’t done when it should have been ...any other ref woulda just let it go ..the guy is a total ahole but in this instance he was right by rule ...
Ref suspended
Check out this article from My Central Jersey:
NJSIAA suspends wrestling ref in dreadlocks controversy following joint investigation
https://www.courierpostonline.com/s...following-joint-investigation-dcr/2351971001/
Check out this article from My Central Jersey:
NJSIAA suspends wrestling ref in dreadlocks controversy following joint investigation
https://www.courierpostonline.com/s...following-joint-investigation-dcr/2351971001/
That’s a lie ..he did not have the right covering ...as much as Maloney is an ahole in this instance he was right ...nothing racial about it at all but just making the match about himself like he always has ...he was late for weigh in so he missed the hair inspection ...making it a racial matter is just bullshit ....he may be a douchebag but that’s it.
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