Arkansas School Bans Basketball Player Over Long Hair

[The Straight Story]

Arkansas School Bans Basketball Player Over Long Hair
Decision Unusual for Otherwise Liberal-Minded Town


EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. (WHBQ FOX13 myfoxmemphis.com) – -- Though Eureka Springs voters supported a ballot measure encouraging less enforcement of marijuana laws, apparently the local school district can't handle a student having long hair.

The family of a seventh-grade basketball player who was cut from his school's team after refusing to cut his long hair has sued the Eureka Springs School District.

Linda and Robert Conway named the school board and Superintendent Reck Wallis in their suit, which asks for $100,000 for violating son Robert Dylan Conway's civil rights. The suit also asked that the son be allowed to play basketball for the rest of the season.
....

Eureka Springs, a resort city in northwest Arkansas, saw about 63 percent of its voters approve a measure last year to de-emphasize the prosecution and arrest of marijuana users. The city is also home to the state's only domestic-partner registry.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5329618&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

[fenriswolf]

1. wtf does long hair have to do with basketball? or pot?

does the female basketball team have to cut their hair?

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. Eureka Springs is a pretty liberal town

for Arkansas at least.

[Recursion]

3. I'm iffy on that -- there's safety issues

basketball gets really really rough. I'm inclined to say that if the kid is willing to take the risk, it's on him, but the school district's legal team might see it differently. Then again, if he's willing to keep it pinned up (which he may not be), I would say it's a non issue -- as the post above me points out, the girls' teams get by ok. That said, I think coaches should have some pretty wide leeway on who they do and don't let play on the team.

[H2O Man]

14. The school

should have the exact same "hair policy" for boys and girls basketball.

Some kids will be outstanding in both junior and senior high; some will be better in junior high, but not grow as a player; and others will not be very good in junior hgh, but will stand out in high school. Hence, a junior high basketball program should allow a wide range of kids the opportunity to play.

The article implies the kid would be on the team if he cut his hair. It would be interesting to see if there is a similar rule for the girls basketball teams.

Your comment about the school's legal team is interesting. I can only speak about the state I'm from, but in NY, if your child gets hurt playing a school sport, it's not the school's issue. If a kid is being discriminated against for another reason, the legal team should take close notice.

[Perry Logan]

4. Jeezums peezums. I thought we got over this in the 60's.

[gratuitous]

8. No kidding

Ah, that Pete Maravich! With that long hair, he'll never be any good.

[sarcasmo]

5. The sure utter INSANITY of this Country.

Worrying about some kids long hair. Oh no, look out Elvis is shaking his hips.

[Rageneau]

6. The citizens of Eureka will not let this decision stand.

Eureka Springs is one of the most charming -- and most liberal -- towns in the entire South. It's a mountain community full of artisans and old hippies. The boy with long hair with soon be back.

I'm not so sure about members of the local school board.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Agreed

there are a lot of cool folks living in and near Eureka. Now, in nearby Harrison, my boss has said that no one can have long hair as of January 1. I'm wondering if he will fire me, as I don't intend to get a hair cut. I sit in a freezing office all day (no heat except from the heater I brought in-and he unplugs it every night)and need everything I can to stay warm.

[Redstone]

10. Say WHAT? That's just NUTS. Even when I was a VP of marketing in the electronics business, and wore

a suit every day, the company's owner NEVER told me to cut my hair.

Redstone

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. He's trying to get one of the guys to quit

The fellow has been with him a long time, and the boss has found another worker who is good but works for less pay. The fellow had his hair right along the neckline, and wears a mustache. New rules are you must be clean shaven and no long hair. Knowing the boss and knowing this fellow, nothing much will happen. Don't see how it can about the clean shaven part since the boss wears a mustache.

At one point, one of our drivers ran into and demolished the only bathroom in the building. It was a week before it was fixed, and the only reason it was was because my husband called out my boss and said it was fixed or he would go to the Labor Board about unsafe and unsanitary conditions (my boss doesn't listen to women, you see). Boss also told me that, since I was running errands for him, I could get a free refill at the gas station where we have an account once a month. And then, after about a year, he stopped it without telling me. And of course that was an evening when I didn't have money or my check book. He laughed about that.

I couldn't do anything about it at the time, because my husband was suffering from a mysterious ailment and couldn't work, and I was our only source of income. Husband finally got his malady diagnosed and is on SSD (makes almost as much as I do). If things get worse, I will quit. Since no one understands the books or computers, he'll have fun finding a replacement.

[Redstone]

9. Jesus, this takes me back almost 40 years. As one of the few guys in my high school

over 6 fet tall (this was 1969, remember), I got nagged by the basketball coach to join the team. But he wouldn't let me do so unless I cut my hair, so I didn't.

I thought those days were over and done with, but I guess not.

Rdstone

[sandnsea]

11. My sons had a dress code

I don't remember if they had a hair cut code, but they did have a dress code when representing the school athletic teams. It's an extra-curricular. I think the school has a right to set rules. Even though I think hair cut rules are stupid.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. I won a grievance over the issue when I was steward back in '60s.

The local post office forbade long hair on men because of "safety issues". So, the grievance was that the rule be equally enforced, in that all women employees must also cut their hair to the acceptable length.

They dropped the new rule like a hot potato.

Does Eureka springs H.S. have a girls basketball team, or do girls play basketball on campus?