Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and donned long dreads for the first half of his career, recently said it is time the New York Yankees address their strict haircut and facial hair policy.
Speaking on “The Sports Bubble with Jensen Karp,” McCutchen, who played for the Yanks for a brief stint, said that the strict policies take away from people’s individualism as players and as people.
He said that for him when he started with the Pirates and had his dreads, if he was traded to the Yankees at that time and they told him to shave his hair, it would have been a very tough thing to do.
“Because that was who I was. That was how I expressed myself. That’s (what) made me Andrew McCutchen. That’s how people noticed who I was. It made me unique,” he said
He went on to say, “I think, especially in this year, the year of 2020. I just feel like these things should be things that people take at heart and realize we have a way of expressing ourselves in different ways.
“I feel like maybe there should be some change there in the future.”
Cutch chopped off his dreads in 2015 for charity. The Pirates shipped him out to the San Francisco Giants in 2018 before the start of the season. He landed on the Yanks, where he had to shave his beard, that year for 30 games including a playoff run.
While making these comments, McCutchen also said it was an honor to wear the pinstripes and play for the Yankees.
The Yankees have a policy that doesn’t allow players’ hair to go past the collar of their baseball jersey and they can’t have facial hair other than a mustache. The policy was put in place by late owner George Steinbrenner in 1973.
McCutchen also spoke about some of baseball’s unwritten rules, that he thinks should also change, and the issues Black players face in the league.
