If the kid was allowed to wrestle in other matches with his hair being out of compliance and without the proper covering, shouldn't the referee's who let him break the rules also be banned from being referees in that district? The ref who did this handled everything really badly and deserves to be banned from that district. He should have been on time for the weigh-in and was not. That being said, any ref who let this kid wrestle with out of compliance hair and without proper covering is equally as guilty and should also be banned. Rules are rules and should not be selectively enforced. If this particular rule is a bad one, it needs to be changed or removed but it should be enforced equally as long as it is a rule.
How much "too long" was the wrestler's hair? Perhaps the other refs didn't think his hair was "too long" when under the cap and headgear. Seems the rule has an element of subjectivity. I suspect the rule will be changed. Curious though... I believe more and more girls are wrestling in high school. Do they also have a hair length rule? From Vype Magazines coverage of local girls high school wrestling... these athletes seem to have hair that would extend past their collars...
Those aren't pictures of wrestlers in competition though, of course their hair is down. This is more representative of what you are likely to see in competition. Now that said, there isn't one standardized set of rules for every state or every district, some may allow long hair, some don't. You have to abide by the rules if you want to compete and that's not a bad thing.
@robbie380 posted the rules in post #2 of this thread. They can have long hair as long as it is covered per the rules. If this wrestler had hair that was too long and was allowed to wrestle in previous matches without covering it, then any ref who let him do so should also be in trouble. If the rule is unimportant, it should be changed. Note: I am not defending the ref that did this. He handled this wrong and was at fault because he was late to begin with. The ref should have been at the weigh in and then he could have handled the hair issue rather than waiting until the match. My point is that if he had hair that was against the rules, he should have already had the proper equipment to cover it because refs at previous matches should have made sure he had it. If he had the proper equipment this ref would not have been able to do this. At least some of the blame should fall on his coach too because he should have known the rules.
Again, how much "too long" was this wrestler's hair? And getting conflicting stories as to whether the wrestler had the required head covering. But it appears we are in agreement that the referee was wrong.
robbie380's post where others have discussed this say the wrestler brought a beanie, which isn't approved. Take it with a grain of salt as I haven't seen a published citation, but those posts do seem more informed of the wrestling scene than anyone else here.
I think a bigger problem though was the coach either not knowing or not caring about the rules and then suggesting that they cut the kid's hair. If we want to blame anyone, IMO, we blame the coach.
Parent's statement: https://6abc.com/society/parents-of-wrestler-who-cut-dreadlocks-thank-supporters/4961124/
Which is why I don't get the faux outrage. I mean, a friend of mine had his kid suspended from school over long hair and he wasn't allowed to come back to school till it was cut, IMO that's a better excuse for faux outrage. This kid chose to cut his hair in order to wrestle a specific match....something he didn't have to do, he may not have liked having to make that choice, but welcome to life.
The wrestler showed more character than the referee you could say... https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/o...ching-staff-in-high-school-wrestlers-haircut/ https://www.foxnews.com/sports/wrestlers-attorney-suggests-haircut-because-of-referees-tardiness
This reminds me of the time when our future President Trump (white) shaved the head of Vince McMahon (white) with wrestler Bobby Lashley (black). This sort of racial harmony is what America needs to heal. Let’s take our time to remember this triumphant moment.
