Deryk Engelland forced to shave beard off because of Vegas team policy

[mix1home]

Dress code is in effect in many organizations. Customer facing agents should be well shaved and be presentable. It comes with the job. Players are customer facing agents of NHL. I'm ok with this.

 

[haveandare]

Maybe it's because I'm from New York and the Yankees have a similar policy I don't find this to be a story.

Also from New York and always thought these kind of things were owners treating adult players, the actual talent people come to see, like stupid children.

 

[Sol]

Do they make millionaire's out of athletes?
Does shaving a beard make their skillset?

Or do they have an elite skillset that puts them in the top .01% of an extremely desirable occupation that generates tons and tons of money?

I have a feeling this will be the comment to put an end to this thread, but this comment reminds me a lot of the Kaepernick thing. All the arguments against him are "your employer chooses to pay you" and "your country gave you this opportunity"....at what point are these athletes worth something on their own? (not a real question)

LOL. The hell? The only time the athlete makes it on their own is by making their business where they can pay themselves whatever they want. The athletes having skill doesn't change the fact that they chose to join the NHL, they chose to be the employees. Every business has its rules and regulations, follow it or not, they sign your check. NHL is a business at the end of the day, and the players are the employees of the NHL and their team. If they don't like it, let them go start their own league where they can choose to make beards a hill they want to die on.

There will always be NHL players as long as the NHL is around. The players don't have to join the NHL. They can make their own league. But if you're in the NHL, whether or not your skill is amazing or average, you're accepting a contract from the NHL. And if you sign it, you abide by their rules. Just like any business. What the hell does Caepernick have to do with anything? Name dropping irrelevant crap doesn't make your weak points any stronger.

 

[tarheelhockey]

You don't think Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez were recognizable? You don't think Aaron Judge is recognizable? Not only do none of them have facial hair to make them "recognizable," but they don't even have their names on their jerseys...home or away. But the Yankees are only what, the 2nd most valuable franchise on the face of God's green earth at 3.7 BILLION dollars?

Jeter and Rodriguez were among the best players of all time at their positions, while playing for the most popular team in the league during a dynasty phase. They were marketable by default.

How many NHL players are marketable by default? Arguably zero.

So if you are the NHL, it’s in your best interest not to actively promote players in any way possible. That includes having guys like Jagr and Burns with their signature hairstyles, and having traditions like playoff beards that not-coincidentally are among the few things that even the average guy on the street knows about the NHL.

And you say it's the entertainment business for god's sake.... It's routine for directors to have their actors and actresses grow or cut their hair for a part...to gain or lose weight for a part...to pretty much do whatever the **** they tell them to. That's what they're paying them for. Not to express themselves how they see fit. They have a roll to perform, and they signed on the dotted line knowing the terms and conditions of their employment. So did Engelland.

They are asked to do that because they are playing a role that REQUIRES those physical appearances, not because the director arbitrarily dislikes beards.

Facial hair is irrelevant to playing a sport. It has nothing to do with the job. Laying down rules about it is purposeless.

 

[FeatherHead]

Jeter and Rodriguez were among the best players of all time at their positions, while playing for the most popular team in the league during a dynasty phase. They were marketable by default.

How many NHL players are marketable by default? Arguably zero.

So if you are the NHL, it’s in your best interest not to actively promote players in any way possible. That includes having guys like Jagr and Burns with their signature hairstyles, and having traditions like playoff beards that not-coincidentally are among the few things that even the average guy on the street knows about the NHL.



They are asked to do that because they are playing a role that REQUIRES those physical appearances, not because the director arbitrarily dislikes beards.

Facial hair is irrelevant to playing a sport. It has nothing to do with the job. Laying down rules about it is purposeless.

So facial hair is marketable? Check.

 

[tarheelhockey]

So facial hair is marketable? Check.

It absolutely is.

I mean, a whole industry has exploded around men’s facial hair in the past decade. It’s kind of weird that you haven’t noticed.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Hell, here’s your proof:

Think of Lanny MacDonald.

Boom.

 

[Dogewow]

You are wrong. Sports is a HUGE corporate business. Every sports team out there is a corporation. The very fact they have uniforms like so many other professions is indicative of this. And it makes complete sense. It just doesn't make sense to you. You're free to speak out because YOU feel it's outdated. But that doesn't mean you're right. The day you own a professional franchise, you can dictate how the employees whom you pay millions to, dress and groom.

They’re professional atheletes in the entetianment business.

BIG difference between their situation and what goes on in environments where it would make more sense to institute such a policy.

Yet again, I’m sitting here trying to understand why people insist on applying these situations to professional atheletes.

I’m not arguing that an owner doesn’t have the right to institute such a policy, I’m arguing that it’s outdated and doesn’t apply to these guys.

 

[FeatherHead]

They’re professional atheletes in the entetianment business.

BIG difference between their situation and what goes on in environments where it would make more sense to institute such a policy.

Yet again, I’m sitting here trying to understand why people insist on applying these situations to professional atheletes.

I’m not arguing that an owner doesn’t have the right to institute such a policy, I’m arguing that it’s outdated and doesn’t apply to these guys.

When I think athletes in the entertainment business...I think...WWF. Actors and actresses are in entertainment. Cirque du Soleil... That's entertainment.

Well...I've said my peace. My opinion's stated, and I've gone back and forth enough on it. I'm not trying to change anyone else's opinion, and I really don't need anyone's approval of mine. They both are what they are. Moving right along...

 

[Steddy33]

You do realize that having that hair remain on your face is voluntary, just like getting a tattoo and letting it remain there, right?

If you don't think a company couldn't force a woman to shave her legs and armpits in an environment where appearance matters, I think you're sorely mistaken. Appearance isn't about performance. No one said it was. When kids attend Catholic school, do you think wearing uniforms is about performance?

I have a job that dictates I wear a suit and tie. I don't get to choose how I appear. If I showed up with an untucked shirt, an unbuttoned collar, a hoop in my nose, etc...I'd never have gotten my job to begin with, much less been able to maintain it...and that would be completely justified.

I wasn't really looking for debate... Like said, I wouldn't shave but if you would want to, then have at it. The whole asking players to shave for a hockey team thing is silly. It says more about the owners need for control than anything. His military background probably playing a huge part in his reasoning.

As a business owner myself, I don't have employees dealing with the general public. But I do deal with clients and vendors quite regularly with my beard. No one seems to mind. I wouldn't do business with anyone who asked me shave my beard in order to do business. It's a stupid thing to ask. I'm self employed to remove myself from corporate bullshit. Life is short, too short to have someone who controls a huge portion of your waking life also control personal freedoms like whether you have a beard or not. So many silly cultural rules that have no basis other than conformity for power struggles stake of old men.

To each their own. But I'm interested in personal freedom. I guess if I was good enough for the NHL and I couldn't play for Vegas maybe the Sharks will have me. Or the 28 teams or so that want to let players have beards. Or if not, the AHL.

 

[Dogewow]

When I think athletes in the entertainment business...I think...WWF. Actors and actresses are in entertainment. Cirque du Soleil... That's entertainment.

Well...I've said my peace. My opinion's stated, and I've gone back and forth enough on it. I'm not trying to change anyone else's opinion, and I really don't need anyone's approval of mine. They both are what they are. Moving right along...

It’s widely accepted that pretty much all form of professional sports falls into the entertainment industry. Some entities are also legally considered to be part of the entertainment industry (at least the NFL is officially, and I would think other major leagues would follow for the sake of legal protection). People go to these events and watch on TV for the sake of entertainment and enjoyment. They don’t do it out of necessity or because it will provide some sort of service, or because they’re forced to.

Don’t just move the goalposts and decide what should and shouldn’t apply because it doesn’t fit what you want to believe.

 

[cptjeff]

So, I'm all for players being allowed to wear beards, and think that anyone who thinks a well groomed beard is the least bit unprofessional has some deep seated psychological problems, but this post isn't about that. This post is about asking whether Joe Thornton has seen the inside of one too many tanning booths. Because that skin does not look remotely healthy, it looks like he's in the process of getting every type of skin cancer known to mankind.