Soccer is No Place for Hair Creativity!

By: Laurie | December 10th, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KvoOkKWZuQ

Brandan Geise. High school senior. “A” student. Former soccer player. Hair rebel.

Brandan was kicked off his high school soccer team in Indiana for wearing a mohawk. (Which, to my eyes, looks more “faux” than “mo.” But let’s not…um…split hairs.)

Brandon wasn’t allowed to play, and soccer team yearbook photos were retaken so that he could be excluded. Because apparently they don’t have PhotoShop. And then he was not recognized on senior night.

The reason? (Read this quote. It’s classic. Or better yet, watch it in the video.)

“A mohawk haircut is not in the best image that we’re trying to promote,” said superintendent Dr. Bob Klitzman. He says a mohawk brings in attention and takes away from the team spirit. “That’s not the place for individuality and there are places for that, but not in the context of an athletic contest,” explains Klitzman.

**CoughFASCISTCoughcough**

Because heaven knows the following guys could tell you that soccer is NO place for hair creativity.

Djibril Cisse, Marseille

David James, Portsmouth

Clint Mathis, LA Galaxy

Abel Xavier, LA Galaxy

David Beckham, LA Galaxy

And if you’re already shocked by this, be sure to stop by this site and read the school board minutes. Starts about two thirds of the way down. The school board apparently refused to act, despite there being no written code to apply. They called it a “personnel matter.”

If there are any Indianans reading this, I’d love to know if there was any final resolution. Because this is appalling.

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Category: North America, World Football

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Laurie

Eric, I figured the situation was something like that. Thanks for your Indiana insight.
Eric

Dude, Winamac is typical small-town Middle America. It's roughly an hour's drive (about 60 miles or so) from two decent-sized population centres (South Bend and Greater Lafayette), but anybody who has made that drive knows that it's nothing but cornfields. Those population centres have university influences, with Notre Dame and Purdue, but everything in between is a no-man's land. I went to Purdue, so while I never passed through Winamac, I have a decent feel for the area, which has voted Republican for about 40 years or so. Not that that necessarily means anything. ;-) Having said that, I had a great time at Purdue, but the small towns definitely value conformity.

That report was from a TV station in South Bend, but I imagine that WLFI, the station in Lafayette (although its studios are in West Lafayette), also had a report.
Juliet

Oh my goodness -- the cut is so innocuous. I wouldn't have looked twice at him. Even if he had grown it into a real mohawk and dyed it purple, they're wrong to kick him off the team.
Ian

What a stupid waste of effort for the superintendent of a school district. If the soccer team's hairstyles are his largest concern, the schools in Indiana must be either very good or very bad. Shame on the rest of the team for putting up with it, though - a good side of high schoolers would have all shaved into mohawks in protest.
Laurie

Andrew, OMG and duh. THAT was the other picture I meant to include! Going back in to edit now. (And the saddest part is? I write the Galaxy blog.)
Andrew

That school board obviously doesn't know who Abel Xavier is.