It’s official: Yankees players can now let loose (sort of) with their facial hair.
Since 1976, the New York Yankees have held a strict policy regarding the appearance of the team’s players. Enacted by then-franchise owner George Steinbrenner, the policy stated that players’ hair must not touch their collars and that the only facial hair that players were allowed to have were mustaches.
However, it appears that after years of maintaining these rules, the Yankees appear to be loosening the reigns on those strict guidelines. In a statement on Feb. 21, Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner announced that players can now start to sport facial hair.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback. These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years,” Steinbrenner said. “Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
The update in the policy comes just days after news circulated that Devin Williams, who was traded over from the Milwaukee Brewers, was photographed in the Yankees team photo with facial hair.
After posting the statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), save for a few who embraced the tradition, users celebrated the move, applauding the Yankees for leaving behind the old policy.
