NPR said the kid was in complete compliance? I've read nothing from multiple sources that says that. And I think NPR is one of the most trustworthy outlets there is.

The kid's hair was out of regulation, but the ref didn't say anything at the initial evaluation. Athletes with hair out of reg can wear a head cover, but the one the kid had was not in compliance with new rules that it attach to the ear guards. The coach should have known about the rules for the head covering, and the ref, coach, and other officials should have caught this and addressed it at the initial evaluation before the meet. The kid was put into an unfortunate and avoidable position to have to choose to cut his hair. But it wasn't "arbitrary."

In the video, a team mate gives him support.

There are concrete rules about hair. In the video, I see a woman cutting it really short, and she cuts the top. It seems like she's not terribly concerned with just trimming it to meet the regulation. The hair isn't supposed to reach a certain spot on the ears and forehead, but she's cutting the top an inch from the scalp! So I definitely see how people get a sense of brutality and injustice from seeing it.

@carlyhorton Regulations say that kids may have long hair if it is netted, which the kid's hair reported was before the referee said he had to cut it off. There was no reason for this. The coach just made an arbritrary decision, baseed on his hown prejudices.

@snytiger6 From what I've read, there was a change in the rules for the head covering. The new rule said it had to attach to the ear guards, and his didn't. It's his coach's fault for not keeping up with the change and making sure he had approved gear.

It has also come out that the ref was late to the meet and didn't catch it at the initial inspection. So this certainly did not need to happen and the coach and ref both bear responsibility.

@carlyhorton You know... kids sports e supposed to be fun. If there was a recent rule change any reasonable person would give a warning and let them participate int he one event and hold them accountable to have fixed the issue at the next meet.

Small people with a little authority are the worst abusers of that authority.

@snytiger6 I agree that there is no good reason that this wasn't corrected before the kid took the mat. I probably would have been more lenient if it were me. But there would also have been rules-sticklers in the crowd who would have raised hell that the kid won the match when he should have been disqualified. It was sure to go bad one way or the other. It's the coach's responsibility to keep up on the rules. And the ref was reportedly LATE to the match and didn't catch it. So yes, it stinks.

I can accept the sticking-to-the-rules decision, but it's still stinky. The rules are that the hair can't touch the eyebrows or where a shirt collar hits, but the woman cutting it is cutting the TOP off close to his scalp. Even in the back, she's taking off way more than I think is necessary. I question whether or not he needed the hair covering to begin with. That will all come out in an investigation.

Because people like @maturin1919 are ready to tell you all about how you're crying wolf.

@ghettophilosopher insanity! It's all over the country!

@ghettophilosopher Look another white man 'splaing how something clearly racist is us just over reacting.

What do you bet maturin1919 also has told women they clearly were not raped?

@maturin1919 Debit it from the stolen wages bank.

@maturin1919, @Donotbelieve So. He IS also a rape apologist.

How am I NOT surprised? Racism, misogyny, homophobia and other "isms" are all fingers on the same leaden glove used to bash humanity in the face.

@Donotbelieve @BufftonBeotch I would add misinformed know-it-all to that list.

@ghettophilosopher Thank you for your voice here, and I have butted heads with his ilk many times.
@Donotbelieve Do you know how this "so-called" rule could have been enforced and NOT be racist.?

I am sure this referee saw the young man and his hair long before that 90 seconds before the match.

The NOT racist thing, would have been to speak to the student, the coach, the parents at the beginning of the day so that the appropriate head gear could be found.

The RACIST thing was to humiliate hat young man by going all Delilah on him in front of a stadium full of people.

@maturin1919 "they say" is the first page of the Directions to Hell handbook. My ex was HS and college wrestler...nothing at all about hair except if you choose to have a bunch, your opponent can use it against you, as noted by others on here. BTW, none of Your business either!

@AnneWimsey Wrong...
3. (4-2-1) Hair shall not extend below the earlobe on the sides and must be above the top of a normal shirt in the back. The hair, in its natural state, shall not extend below the eyebrows in uniform and appearance

@maturin1919 I just read the rules for Florida - about the same As PIAA (Pennsylvania) if the hair was too long, he should have been given the option to use a cover. Most teams carry those and I've read nothing about that option being offered.