Hairy Logic

In a recent a recent Yahoo! Sports article, the iconic dreadlocks of baseball star Manny Ramirez have come under attack by his new team's personal conduct policy. The Chicago White Sox have a rule that players must have a "neat" haircut, which would mean the unfortunate demise of Manny's flowing locks that have come to symbolize his larger than life personality that his fans adore. Ken Williams, the general manager of the White Sox explains, "from my understanding, it's not going to be an issue, and he's going to make an adjustment and conform to how we like to have our players represented out there."

This policy assumes that any player with hair that is not "neat" would therefore be imposing a negative externality on the team. It is the view of the management that such an unkempt appearance would tarnish the professional reputation of the ball club, and cause fans to consume less of their product in the form of ticket sales and merchandise.

This logic ignores the marginal benefits produced by Manny's hair. A large part of Manny's appeal as an athlete is his laid back goofball attitude, which is embodied by his wild looking hair. When fans pay to see Manny play or buy his uniform, part of it is due to the persona he has made for himself, not just for his production as a player. Furthermore, by forcing him to cut his hair, it could harm his on-field performance by damaging a source of his confidence. The question remains, do the benefits outweigh the costs of a haircut of this magnitude?