So George doesn't like long hair and beards

[mtnsnake]

George Steinbrenner that is.

According to CNN (and I'm paraphrasing from memory), "Steinbrenner doesn't allow long hair and beards, so Johnny Damon will have to cut his long hair and beard off." Damon is being traded to the NY Yankees, and to make a little extra money (as if he needs another cent), he's willing to say bye-bye to the wild look that makes him so famous...and unique.

What goofballs both these guys are - Steinbrenner for his policy and Damon for selling his soul if he agrees to bow to Steinbrenners demands of a shave & a haircut. No wonder this country has taken up such a neocon look when you've got mega-millionaire sports owners like this dictating Middle Age policies to have their teams looking like something out of a prep school boot camp. Thank goodness some of the other owners of professional sports let their players have a little freedom of expression.

Glenn Sather did the same thing when the pompous ASSHOLE was hired to run my beloved NY Rangers several years ago. The first thing he did was outlaw whiskers and long hair. The Rangers, the highest-paid team in the NHL by far under Sather (until the salary cap, haha), went on to become the laughing stock of the league for 4 years in a row, short hair and all. I think after 4+ years of utter futility he finally woke up a little.

AFAIC, policies like this contribute as much to this country's fucked-up personality as anything else. Not too many things influence young people more than their sports heroes, and when they see their favorite teams looking like a sea of mundane uniformity it's no surprise that they follow suit themselves. Diversity? What's that? It's not "in" right now I guess.

BTW, as a lifelong Yankees fan, all I can say is...if Damon finalizes the deal and agrees to shed his shaggy image in order to walk in lockstep for Steinbrenner, I hope he's a total flop, and I hope it all backfires on the team. This country doesn't need to add anything else to its image of military sameness with stupid policies like George Steinbrenner's. Gimme a little hair!

I can't wait until diversity and freedom of expression are "in" again. How about you?