• The KillerFrogs

Can we hire a baseball coach that has the guts to tell the kids to cut their hair….

When the pandemic started and I was forced into teaching online, I decided to let my hair grow long and shaggy since my students weren’t going to be able to see me anyway. While I’ll still be teaching online until the Fall, I recently got my first haircut in well over a year to celebrate the end of the Mad Masking Era.

In the meantime, I wound up conducting an unintentional sociological experiment as I noticed both friends and strangers treating me differently with my long hair than when I had short hair. And when I finally did get a haircut, the same friends who’d been ribbing me as a “hippie” congratulated me as if I’d just saved a family from a burning building while priests who used to scowl at me in church with my long locks were now smiling at me as if I’d finally repented from a very sinful pattern of behavior.

So, this little experiment of mine proved to be weird but instructive. Obviously, I’m the exact same person with long hair or short hair but that’s not how I was treated. Frankly, it was rather disheartening to realize how many people judge others purely on the basis of their appearance.

Over 40 years ago, when I was living in a monastery in California, a wise old priest told me something that I’ll never forget: “The one sin in the world that is the most-often committed but the least-often confessed is the sin of rash judgment.” In later years, as a trial lawyer, I would always begin my opening statement to the jury by recounting what that old priest had told me as a means of encouraging the jurors to wait until they heard all the evidence before reaching any conclusions about my client.

And when I return to the classroom in the Fall, I’ll tell my students what I always do on the first day of class: “While first impressions are important, that’s only because our society puts way too much emphasis upon them.”

A priest, a lawyer and a teacher walk into bar and the bartender says "Welcome Showtime Joe 2.0!"
 

HFrog1999

Member
And look like men and a baseball team instead of a bunch of long haired girls.

How can UT have a clean cut baseball team and TCU can’t?!

All this long hair looks stupider than [ #2020 ]


wink.gif
 

asleep003

Active Member
And look like men and a baseball team instead of a bunch of long haired girls.

How can UT have a clean cut baseball team and TCU can’t?!

All this long hair looks stupider than [ #2020 ]

We sure wouldn't want any punks that look like Jesus Christ/Troy Polamalu or George Washington types on our ball Club.
 

Austintxfrog94

Full Member
And look like men and a baseball team instead of a bunch of long haired girls.

How can UT have a clean cut baseball team and TCU can’t?!

All this long hair looks stupider than [ #2020 ]
It’s baseball bro. They pride themselves on being slapdicks. You can’t take that away from them, that’s their identity.
 

Salfrog

Tier 1
When the pandemic started and I was forced into teaching online, I decided to let my hair grow long and shaggy since my students weren’t going to be able to see me anyway. While I’ll still be teaching online until the Fall, I recently got my first haircut in well over a year to celebrate the end of the Mad Masking Era.

In the meantime, I wound up conducting an unintentional sociological experiment as I noticed both friends and strangers treating me differently with my long hair than when I had short hair. And when I finally did get a haircut, the same friends who’d been ribbing me as a “hippie” congratulated me as if I’d just saved a family from a burning building while priests who used to scowl at me in church with my long locks were now smiling at me as if I’d finally repented from a very sinful pattern of behavior.

So, this little experiment of mine proved to be weird but instructive. Obviously, I’m the exact same person with long hair or short hair but that’s not how I was treated. Frankly, it was rather disheartening to realize how many people judge others purely on the basis of their appearance.

Over 40 years ago, when I was living in a monastery in California, a wise old priest told me something that I’ll never forget: “The one sin in the world that is the most-often committed but the least-often confessed is the sin of rash judgment.” In later years, as a trial lawyer, I would always begin my opening statement to the jury by recounting what that old priest had told me as a means of encouraging the jurors to wait until they heard all the evidence before reaching any conclusions about my client.

And when I return to the classroom in the Fall, I’ll tell my students what I always do on the first day of class: “While first impressions are important, that’s only because our society puts way too much emphasis upon them.”

You nailed it. When I was in middle school I wanted to grow my hair out. My Dad told me I couldn't grow my hair out until I graduated high school. When I did, I did.

Alot of friends I had in high school treated me differently when I had long hair. Some even stopped going around me. Other people also saw me in a different light. What was interesting was the people in the Athletic Department at TCU that knew me all my life didn't treat me any different. They were still very good to me. From Windegger, Mr. Stone, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Hasselbrock, Mr. Love, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Del Conti, coaching staffs, etc. I was an usher at all of the football, and basketball games from the time I was 15 till the CDC crew took over, and several alums & regular season ticket holders knew me also from my Dad and running around TCU from the time I was 6yrs old.

People that didn't know me at all definitely treated me differently. When I would walk up to them in the jewelry stores I worked at from the back when we were busy, their demeanor would change until they they saw that I was the jeweler that was actually going to do the work on their jewelry. Most of my employers in the jewelry industry reacted to me differently when I walked in for an interview, than they did after they talked to me and saw what I could do. Which is why I have been a shop manager, assistant store manager, store manager, or plant manager at my current job. Based on my abilities, not my long hair.

When I finally cut my hair about 8-10 years ago, people approach me without me having to go to them. I have always thought it was interesting how people perceived me when I had long hair to now that I have short hair. It always amazed me how my Dad treated everyone the same way no matter how they looked, but how other people would be very judgemental solely based on appearance.

And to the poster that thinks because you have, or had long hair makes you a liberal. You know nothing about me, because I'm as far away from being a liberal or Democrat as I can be. Having long or short hair doesn't decide your political affiliation, religion, social status, common sense, or makes a difference if you're a good or bad human being. In fact, in my encounters over the years, long haired people were the nicer people compared to the short haired people because they were much less judgemental.
 
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NewFrogFan

Full Member
Back to the OP question, what if the coach did have a grooming standard? Texas obviously does, they are still playing so I’m not sure what the statement of recruiting and a grooming standard has to do with baseball success. I have essentially had 2 jobs in my life that both had pretty specific grooming standards. Those were their terms, and so were the jets I wanted to fly.

Just to head off the flame throwers, my comments have nothing to do with what I think about longer hair. I surely wish I had more options with my own at my age.:p
 

Froglaw

Full Member
Can you believe that dude is going to make $50M playing baseball. His earnings to production ratio must be one of the worst in history.

Arod with the Rangers.

$252m

When he was at the plate with no one on or in a laugher, the guy ripped the baseball.

Put someone on second in a one run or tie game, he went 0 for his career.

I hated that salary cap sucking loser.
 

Paint It Purple

Active Member
You nailed it. When I was in middle school I wanted to grow my hair out. My Dad told me I couldn't grow my hair out until I graduated high school. When I did, I did.

Alot of friends I had in high school treated me differently when I had long hair. Some even stopped going around me. Other people also saw me in a different light. What was interesting was the people in the Athletic Department at TCU that knew me all my life didn't treat me any different. They were still very good to me. From Windegger, Mr. Stone, Mr. Bailey, Mr. Hasselbrock, Mr. Love, Mr. Morrison, Mr. Del Conti, coaching staffs, etc. I was an usher at all of the football, and basketball games from the time I was 15 till the CDC crew took over, and several alums & regular season ticket holders knew me also from my Dad and running around TCU from the time I was 6yrs old.

People that didn't know me at all definitely treated me differently. When I would walk up to them in the jewelry stores I worked at from the back when we were busy, their demeanor would change until they they saw that I was the jeweler that was actually going to do the work on their jewelry. Most of my employers in the jewelry industry reacted to me differently when I walked in for an interview, than they did after they talked to me and saw what I could do. Which is why I have been a shop manager, assistant store manager, store manager, or plant manager at my current job. Based on my abilities, not my long hair.

When I finally cut my hair about 8-10 years ago, people approach me without me having to go to them. I have always thought it was interesting how people perceived me when I had long hair to now that I have short hair. It always amazed me how my Dad treated everyone the same way no matter how they looked, but how other people would be very judgemental solely based on appearance.

And to the poster that thinks because you have, or had long hair makes you a liberal. You know nothing about me, because I'm as far away from being a liberal or Democrat as I can be. Having long or short hair doesn't decide your political affiliation, religion, social status, common sense, or makes a difference if you're a good or bad human being. In fact, in my encounters over the years, long haired people were the nicer people compared to the short haired people because they were much less judgemental.
Good post. Human beings are complex organisms and really simple at the same time. All animals have instincts. Most that go back to the beginning of time. First impressions are survival instincts that haven't faded, won't, and shouldn't. With the hair thing, I would suggest that certain observed behaviors and teachings contribute to a trust/distrust that kicks in the instincts at first. What happens next depends on the higher levels of the brain and determines whether one can let go of the base instinct and move on or move away.
 
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