Silsbee Middle School player does not have to cut his hair

[True Blue]

[quote name="BLUEDOVE3" post="943314" timestamp="1294330934"]
I got the impression that the wording for the hair requirements singled out more towards the style that a lot of African American kids like to wear. Maybe the wording or descriptions should be a little more broader to fit all. But he should be banned fo tonights game against Hamshire Fannett ;D
[/quote] The way I read it was that the styles that white kids have to keep  their hair is in the school hand book. Out of the eyes, off the ears, and above the collar. The basketball coach just added the braids. What is wrong with a kid looking clean cut to be  part of a team.. ???

[PoppaBearstarr]

I agree, some of it may be biased, but it isn't about my opinion, it's about a rule that the school put in place so it needs to be followed, not fought midway through the basketball season. If it is something that needs to changed then comply to the rule, then go to the appropriate person or persons AFTER the season and try to get it changed. Too many take it personal, like they are after one kid, and it isn't, usually the rule was in place long before the issue..... it's about the image the school wants to portray to other schools and communities.....(not only did we whoop your butt but we looked good doing it)  ;D :o :D

[Guest speechless]

what most tend to not think about regarding issues like this is that there is always one or two that cause a rule like this to be put in place

it is not about the braided hairstyle itself that is what people don't get

it is about the fact that one person will ALWAYS take the freedom too far and have words braided in their head or something inappropriate braided or have bead in the braids which could fall out and cause an issue during a game

all it takes is one person to push the freedom of the rule and that is what causes more stringent rules to be put in place

some will say then why not just take care of the kid that had the inappropriate hair style/braids?  because that is even easier for a parent to cry about picking on their baby  "so johnny can wear his braids because they are straight but my baby cant wear his because he has words braided into his head?"  then you end up spending more time dealing with that than running your program and if you ignore it completely then see above where people naturally push the limits and ultimately the tail starts wagging the dog....so in order to keep it simple and straight forward a coach says "you are a student athlete, you are held to a higher standard, you are a reflection of this school district when you play for this program and we expect you to represent this school district in a particular manner and as the coach I have been hired to make sure you do that therefore, it is my best judgment that we will best represent our school district by doing the following things:_________________"

[PoppaBearstarr]

totally agree............

[BLUEDOVE3]

Every generation wants to express themselves and free style away from the establishment. And then you have the establishment trying to set guidelines to those of lesser power. There are braids without beads, above the hair, without lettering, etc. Like I tell my kids, I had to conform to the power in charge and I'm really enjoying conveying my power on them as payback

[football]

Can not believe that Silsbee capitulated on this issue.  The supreme court has already ruled on this issue.  Athletics is a [u][i][b]privilege[/b][/i][/u] not a right.  Counter sue for attorney fees when the suit is thrown out.

[BADSANTA]

Grow your hair out like Sampson and enjot Middle School. Let the rules run into High School. You are 12-14 yrs old in High School. Give a break. Let a kid be a kid in middle school. Can't vote, can't drive, can't buy beer, and now can't wear your dreads.

[PoppaBearstarr]

I don't agree, its a privilege not a right. Start it in middle school so it is not a fight when they get to high school.

[jay]

How would you feel "as a coach" if you set a standard for your players and future players, only to be undermined because the Parents of a 12 year old kid think their kid is above your set standards? Just asking. :P

[True Blue]

They would have to fire me. If its my team its my rules, and if some school board member wont to change the rules for any kid, they would have to fire me and then after we got out of that lawsuit I could retire.

[BADSANTA]

At the high school level I agree! At the middle school level I disagree. What's next 3rd graders? Little Dribbler? Travis is the head coach and his rules should stand. Oin high school!

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO

[AggiesAreWe]

[quote name="Scooter!" post="943585" timestamp="1294363978"]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote]


Hair doesn't prevent one from being able to shoot a gun, drive a tank, watch a radar, ect ect ect.... but Scooter, you obliged with those rules when you went into the military. ;)

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

[quote name="AggiesAreWe" post="943591" timestamp="1294364151"]
[quote author=Scooter! link=topic=78336.msg943585#msg943585 date=1294363978]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote]


Hair doesn't prevent one from being able to shoot a gun, drive a tank, watch a radar, ect ect ect.... but Scooter, you obliged with those rules when you went into the military. ;)
[/quote]you cant compare the military to a bball game. LOL  cmon, now you reaching :D

[True Blue]

[quote name="Scooter!" post="943585" timestamp="1294363978"]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote] Whats tasteful to you might look like a street punk to me.. But a neat hair cut is just that neat. Just look at the Yankees You can play of any team but if you wont to wear the pin strips you cut the hair.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

[quote name="True Blue" post="943596" timestamp="1294364562"]
[quote author=Scooter! link=topic=78336.msg943585#msg943585 date=1294363978]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote] Whats tasteful to you might look like a street punk to me.. But a neat hair cut is just that neat. Just look at the Yankees You can play of any team but if you wont to wear the pin strips you cut the hair.
[/quote]im sure Manny doesnt have a problem hitting a homer with the dreads he got.  ;) Fitzgerald doesnt have a prob with catching TDs with dreads. Cedric Griffin from UT didnt have a problem with knocking somebodys head off versus USC when they won the title with dreads. Tweety Carter from Baylor didnt have a prob killing teams when he had dreads. just saying  ;) Some Yates kids didnt have a prob with helping winning state last year and had mo-hawks.

[AggiesAreWe]

[quote name="Scooter!" post="943595" timestamp="1294364474"]
[quote author=AggiesAreWe link=topic=78336.msg943591#msg943591 date=1294364151]
[quote author=Scooter! link=topic=78336.msg943585#msg943585 date=1294363978]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote]


Hair doesn't prevent one from being able to shoot a gun, drive a tank, watch a radar, ect ect ect.... but Scooter, you obliged with those rules when you went into the military. ;)
[/quote]you cant compare the military to a bball game. LOL  cmon, now you reaching :D
[/quote]



The point is, you used a point that hair has nothing to do with playing the game. I agree. I used the same point about the military. Neither has anything to do with performance, which you were pointing out. God created hair so you should wear it as you see fit and it has nothing to do with performance, then why does the military have a hair policy?

[AggiesAreWe]

Scooter, you are sadly missing the point. You keep referring to performance. Hair policies are not about performance. The hair policy in the military is not about performance, is it?

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

[quote name="AggiesAreWe" post="943602" timestamp="1294364909"]
[quote author=Scooter! link=topic=78336.msg943595#msg943595 date=1294364474]
[quote author=AggiesAreWe link=topic=78336.msg943591#msg943591 date=1294364151]
[quote author=Scooter! link=topic=78336.msg943585#msg943585 date=1294363978]
hair does not affect the ball going in the hoop. God created you with hair so you should wear it how you see fit in a tasteful way IMO
[/quote]


Hair doesn't prevent one from being able to shoot a gun, drive a tank, watch a radar, ect ect ect.... but Scooter, you obliged with those rules when you went into the military. ;)
[/quote]you cant compare the military to a bball game. LOL  cmon, now you reaching :D
[/quote]



The point is, you used a point that hair has nothing to do with playing the game. I agree. I used the same point about the military. Neither has anything to do with performance, which you were pointing out. God created hair so you should wear it as you see fit and it has nothing to do with performance, [b]then why does the military have a hair policy?[/b]
[/quote]To look professional. these are kids----youngins. thats the difference. let the kids be kids. they only live once.

[jay]

[quote name="BADSANTA" post="943559" timestamp="1294361098"]
At the high school level I agree! At the middle school level I disagree. What's next 3rd graders? Little Dribbler? Travis is the head coach and his rules should stand. Oin high school!
[/quote]I'm pretty sure they have a dress code at ALL levels of school, especiallyfor athletics. I'm an advocate of having the High School Coach/A.D. adressing these kind of issues at the Jr. High, even the Elem. levels. It sets the tone for things to come for these youngsters.

[Rockin A]

What a shame...just another example of a professional and well-respected coach trying to create a standard for those who will eventually play on his team only to be overruled by administrators afraid to tell parents where they can take lil Johnny to play by a set of rules they agree with.

I certainly hope these same administrators don't do the same thing when this same lil Johnny finally enters Silsbee High School.  It certainly sends the wrong message to not only this kid but his teammates and every other parent who has wondered what would happen if they made a stink about a certain rule they don't agree with. 

Rules are rules, and participating in extracurricular activities is a privilege, not a right.  It's irrelevant if it's participating in cheerleading, band, math club or a sport.  In the grand scheme, is it really significant that a junior high kid has the rules changed for him because his parents made a stink and the administrators didn't support their coach?  Not particularly, but it's just sad.  If my kid's coach said that in order to play on his team, all players had to wear a yellow watch, you can bet I'd be at Academy looking for a yellow watch...actually two yellow watches because I know he'd lose the first one. 

[whsalum]

To quote my dear ole daddy from many years ago " I didn't say you had to get your hair cut but I didn't say you had to stay at my house either".Run your show Travis and the kid with the dreads will come around.

[BLUEDOVE3]

I saw the kid's dreads tonight. Sorry guys, there is nothing wrong with his hair style. Shame on Silsbee reps.

[Guest speechless]

if you dont enforce it at the junior high then when they get to high school the parents will say "he got to do it in junior high why cant he do it in high school?"

someone made the comment about the military wanting to look professional

whats wrong with wanting young men to look professional in their appearance as they represent an entire community, school district, and school

when i was in high school i wanted to shave those racer lines into my head and my dad told me "sure do it and then find someone who will let you live in their house with that kind of hair cut"

bluedove you say you saw the kids hair last night and there is nothing wrong with it
why don't you understand that it is not about one particular hairstyle but more about setting those boundaries so that those that always want to go one step too far can't?  it is about setting boundaries and higher standards for kids that are expected to act and perform at a higher level than others.  there are businesses that only allow black, navy, or dark gray suits to be worn.  there are school districts that require male teachers to wear ties and only wear jeans on Fridays.  there are rules all over this world and the general consensus is if you don't like the rules then you don't have to work for us.  what is wrong with teaching these kids these life lessons now?  it is real world preparation.  too many of this kids have their parents as their friends and not as their parents and that is what causes crap like this to happen.  it wasnt that long ago that i was in school and if i didn't like the way a rule was i was told "oh well life aint fair".

[AggiesAreWe]

Very good post, speechless.

I was told that the decision was made to allow the player to wear his hair as is because they were late in implementing the rule (week of 1st game) at the middle school.

Next school year, the middle school will enforce the rule just like it is at the high school. The high school hair policy will remain the same but will be worded a little differently.

The players coming from middle school to high school next year will have to comply with the rule to be able to play basketball.


end of story.