Cam and the zebra

[ECILLJ]

"Why are we having trouble recruiting new young members?" comes up. 

Agree. 

Some of the best young officials  in our association have facial hair and they also have professional jobs  . Many of the coaches and a.d.'s in our area have facial hair. Acting as the grooming police  is the least of the worries in our association.

We need to be thinking of better ways to recruit and retain officials. IMHO, mustaches and beards are personal choices. Who are we to judge? 

Full disclosure: I'm clean shaven. 

[Johnponz]

I am going to reiterate what some above have said...How many NCAA and NFL officials do you see with facial hair?  There is a reason for this number.

[Osric Pureheart]

Sorry, I must have missed the bit where everyone's association is as oversubscribed for new officials as NCAA and NFL are.

(PS: They're still wrong.)

[GAHSUMPIRE]

As I said earlier, I don't  have an issue with officials having facial hair, as long as it, and the rest of his body, is well groomed. We have a few officials who have facial hair, but it is always neatly trimmed.

My objection would be to those officials who don't shave that day. I know I am making a rather sweeping generalization here, but in my experience, for someone who has the problem of already looking young, 1 day of not shaving is typically not enough to grow a full beard, and as a result, they still look young, but now add sloppy to it, and it will compound the problem.

I would hope that most people would not go into their day jobs ungroomed, why should this be any different?

[Eastshire]

As I said earlier, I don't  have an issue with officials having facial hair, as long as it, and the rest of his body, is well groomed. We have a few officials who have facial hair, but it is always neatly trimmed.

My objection would be to those officials who don't shave that day. I know I am making a rather sweeping generalization here, but in my experience, for someone who has the problem of already looking young, 1 day of not shaving is typically not enough to grow a full beard, and as a result, they still look young, but now add sloppy to it, and it will compound the problem.

I would hope that most people would not go into their day jobs ungroomed, why should this be any different?

I agree with you here. If you're wearing a beard, wear a beard. This is not the same as only not shaving on game day. Don't go to a game with stubble. If you're going to wear a beard during the season, it's going to have to be grown before the season.

[Johnponz]

Here is my point...

1.  As I said earlier officials in the NCAA and NFL do not have beards.  In my NCAA conference (Div. 3), we have 0 beards and 1 mustache (I think).  There is a reason for these numbers...

2.  If you want to wear facial hair at the lower levels, knock yourself out, but know this you most likely will not advance.  Some College Coordinators will want to see a film before even talking to you, and you may lose a chance at a good first impression by having a beard.  You may knock yourself out of contention before the Coordinator looks at one call.

3.  Right or wrong does not really matter, it is the way it is.  (I am not going to argue what is right or wrong)

4.  Officials, generally, are not allowed the luxury of individual expression anymore, and that is exactly what a beard is.  Anything that makes you stand out like facial hair, visible tattoos, etc. are usually discouraged.


4.  These are just some coaching points for any individual who may want to advance, do not put yourself at any disadvantage before even starting.

[LAZebra]

For 30 years (20 as a white hat) I shaved off my beard for football.  The last two years I have kept the beard.  My seasons have been just as successful; the level of respect from coaches and other officials has been just as high; playoff assignments have been just as plentiful.  If I were trying to break into college football, I am sure I would still be shaving. I worked DI basketball for 15 years and always shaved a couple hours before the game to be as clean as possible. I agree with those who said that if you desire to move beyond high school, beards are still taboo.  But wearing a beard has absolutely nothing to do with how professional an official is or how well they call a game,

[Eastshire]

3.  Right or wrong does not really matter, it is the way it is.  (I am not going to argue what is right or wrong)

Yes, it's the way it is. But it is most certainly wrong. And that does matter.

4.  Officials, generally, are not allowed the luxury of individual expression anymore, and that is exactly what a beard is.  Anything that makes you stand out like facial hair, visible tattoos, etc. are usually discouraged.

I'm sorry, this is just staggering. A beard is no more an individual expression than the way you cut your hair and I have yet to see anyone require a standardized haircut.

I start believing beards make a difference in the viewed professionalism of an official when coordinators start requiring officials to shave bald for the same reason.

[The Roamin' Umpire]

I'm sorry, this is just staggering. A beard is no more an individual expression than the way you cut your hair and I have yet to see anyone require a standardized haircut.

Require? No. But I had a ponytail when I started officiating and I certainly caught all sorts of flak about it, from coaches and other officials.

[yarnnelg]

I have no problem with facial hair with one exception ......

If any of the women officials in the Association show with facial hair ..... I retire.

[HLinNC]

I am beardless and eventually shaved off the mustache when I realized it would never look like Tom Selleck's.  I am fully aware that the NCAA and up aren't fans of facial hair.   They are also looking for tall, lean, athletic, younger looking dudes these days too.  If I fit that profile, I'd worry about how my facial hair looks.  Since I don't, I fortunately don't have to consider it. 

I imagine those that do fit the latest profile can decide if they need to shave it off to succeed or not.