The team won the dual handily, could the kid/coach chose not to wrestle that match? He and his coach would have had the ability to pursue a future solution. If it were a funding issue for proper equipment, I’m sure they could have used social media to unite everyone in financing a solution.
Last week in Springfield we had a kid that had to cut his hair at the scale and he just about cried. But I kinda laughed at him because he looked fine and no different in my eyes. Pretty sure that I shouldn’t laugh at him but I did, and don’t really care that I’m wrong. The kid made the choice to cut the hair. His choice.
The kid was Latino American and the ref was white. And In my opinion race was not a factor.
This summer I was at NHSCA duals. We had a kid that wrestled all day. The ref told him that he had to get a proper head gear or cut his hair. The kids family member cut the sleeve off his T-shirt and we fashioned a hair cover and attached it to the head gear. The ref said that it wasn’t acceptable. So we just gave the other team the win. The kid didn’t cut the hair. His choice.
The kid was white and the ref was Asian. And In my opinion race was not a factor.
In this case, the kid chose to cut his hair. It happens all the time. I seen it twice in the last 6 months. This is a non-story. And In my opinion race was not a factor.
From a ref’s perspective, it seems as though the letter of the rule was enforced correctly—a local ref says he had seen the wrestler using an illegal hair cover a week prior and told both wrestler and coach it needed to be addressed. It sounds like they didn’t address it. The penalty point and starting the injury clock to give the wrestler time to address the issue is the right call per the rule 8-1-1 that is referenced above.
I don’t think the intent of the rule is so that kids will cut their hair matside to make it legal. I think it is more so removing a brace that might not be legal or taping laces. I imagine we will see a ruling forbidding the cutting of hair matside. You either use proper legal covering or you don’t wrestle.
I wanted to start this topic because I’ve seen my fair share of illegal hair coverings over the past years. I’ve always addressed it with the wrestler and coach, but I’ve permitted it if I didn’t think it would have the potential to cause harm (example: skull caps that don’t attach to the headgear). There is a rule emphasis that we are to not permit it. Hair coverings must be affixed to the headgear.
If you are a parent or coach of a wrestler whose hair doesn’t meet the standards, please be sure your wrestler has a legal hair covering.
I am getting frustrated reading all about this and getting texts from my nonwrestling friends asking about this. It is bad optics for our sport.
Today footage of a varsity wrestler in NJ went viral. The video is of the wrestler having his hair cut matside in what I imagine allowed it to meet the the requirements for wrestlers’ appearance and health in accordance to NFHS rule 4-2-1.
The wrestler appears to be African-American and his hair was in medium length dreadlocks. From what I gather, his hair cover wasn’t legal because it couldn’t be attached to his headgear. It is unclear to me if the hair cover he was trying to use was the same he had worn all year, or if it was different. I read that he had misplaced his normal headgear and was using something else. I also read that it was the same head cover and no other official made a big deal about it. You can’t always believe what you read on the internet, so I guess pick whichever version you like. Either way, something was apparently wrong.
The main reason this seems to have gotten attention is the shock and awe factor of them hastily cutting the young man’s hair in the middle of the gym while he is clearly frustrated and emotional about the whole thing. Now asking a wrestler to cut their hair because their hair didn’t meet the standard/rule and they didn’t have the proper equipment has happened before, but it normally takes place in a lockerroom or wrestling room prior to the meet (as it should be addressed at the time of weigh ins). Having it happen in the middle of the gym in front of all to see is a much different thing and I can see how this video might catch the eyes of people unfamiliar with our sport.
Many are sharing and commenting on the video and many people are viewing it through a racial lense—a white ref making the ruling while a white trainer/manager cuts a black adolescents hair while his white coach stands by allowing all this to happen. I get the optics. It isn’t good. Making matters worse, the ref who made the call allegedly had been disciplined a few years ago for using a racial slur to discribe another official. Really not good optics.
All of this could and should have went differently. The ref should have addressed the hair at the weigh in. The wrestler could have had the proper legal haircovering (assuming he didn’t). The coach, ref, or AD could have decided that cutting the hair matside was wrong. All these things could have happened differently. Hopefully this viral video prevents this from happening again.
I hope to never see this happen in Indiana. But it very well could. I could almost have seen it happen on my mat. As a ref, I have had to enforce this rule matside—just last weekend, even, at a multi-team individual tournament. Another ref forgot to check for hair coverings (probably assuming wrestlers had them but didn’t bring them to be approved as special equipment) during skin check and the the offending wrestler came onto the mat with hair similar to the boy in the viral video. Luckily the wrestler’s teammates had a spare legal covering and they were able to correct it (in my experience, this has always been the case). The offending wrestler pinned his opponent in the first period so the penalty didn’t play a factor. After the match he and his coach said they didn’t realize he needed the hair cover and said he had been wrestling like this all year. This is a problem.
I’ve had wrestlers try to use pantyhose, skull caps that don’t meet NHFS regulations, swim caps, and even had a wrestler try to use a textbook cover as hair covers. Luckily they were all shut down during weigh-in/skin checks. If, in the heat of the moment, a wrestler didn’t have the proper equipment available like in the situation I mentioned above, I can imaging seeing a coach quickly doing something like this and me—with everything that refs have on their mind at a tournament—not thinking about how it might look or if it is appropriate letting it happen.
We can do better to prevent these situations.
I don’t know if the official was making the kid cut his hair because of racial bias. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. I try not to figure out intent—that isn’t my job. As a ref, I only see two colors: red and green. But I totally can see how this has become story. In the age of social media, stuff like this spreads fast and many people don’t care to look at all the facts. If this happened in the heat of the moment at a meet that I was working, I surely wouldn’t want people assocating my name with racism and hatred.
So...let’s make sure this doesn’t happen in the Hoosier state. Below are some rules for this year’s verson of the rule book that partain to this issue.
Rule 4-2-1
During competition all wrestlers shall be clean shaven, with sideburns trimmed no lower than earlobe level and hair trimmed and well groomed. The hair, in its natural state, shall not extend below the top of an ordinary shirt collar in the back; and on the sides, the hair shall not extend below the earlobe level; in the back; and on the sides, the hair shall not extend below earlobe level; in the front, the hair shall not extend below the eyebrows. A neatly trimmed mustache that does not extend below the line of the lower lip shall be permissible. If an individual has hair longer than allowed by rule, it may be braided or rolled if it is contained in a cover so that the hair rule is satisfied. The legal hair cover shall be attached to the ear guards. A bandanna is not considered a legal hair cover. The legal hair cover must be of solid material and be nonabrasive. The wrestler opting to wear a legal hair cover must wear it to the weigh-in procedure and be checked for grooming with it on. The legal hair cover must be removed prior to the wrestler stepping on the scale to be weighed. If a referee is not present at the weigh-ins, the hair cover must be checked by the meet referee upon arrival at the site.
If an individual has facial hair it must be covered with a face mask. All legal hair covers and face masks will be considered special equipment. If an individual’s hair is as abrasive as an unshaved face, the individual shall be required to shave the head as smooth as a face is required or wear legal hair cover.
7-3-5
Reporting to the scorers table, not properly equipt, or not ready to wrestle or any equipment that is detected as being illegal after the match as started is a technical violation.
According to 5-27, technical violations are to be penalized without warning.
Rule 8 covers penalties and injuries. 8-1-1 states:
Any contestant reporting to the scorers’ table not properly equipped or not ready to wrestle is a technical violation. A wrestler with greasy substance on the body or uniform, improper grooming, objectionable pads and braces, illegal equipment, illegal uniform or any equipment that is detected as being illegal after the match has started shall be disqualified if not removed or corrected within the 1 1/2-minute injury time.
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Most refs don’t want to be bad guys. We want to grow the sport. Help us avoid these types of calls by familiarizing yourselves with the rules and please share the information and knowledge you have gained with others.
Also, if you have questions about these or any other rules, please use this site’s “Ask the Officials” Forum. A lot of times great questions can help us dig deeper into our knowledge of the rules and make us better officials...and from what I hear, everyone wants better officials.
The site continues to evolve and get better every year - great work Joe and others. Indiana wrestling fans are spoiled with the amount of information available and the banter among fans. Wondering who will be this season's Caliboy...
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