In the third quarter of a feisty 2006 NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Steelers strong safety, Troy Polamalu, was brought down by his famously long, luscious locks that protrude from his helmet. They are almost impossible to miss. According to NFL regulations, it is not illegal to tackle a player by his hair no matter how lengthy and luxurious because it’s considered part of his uniform. The Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, however, was penalized because he stood up with Polamalu’s thick, brown curls still wrapped in his grasp, which is considered the same as standing up with the other player’s football jersey still in your hand. Polamalu said in an interview with ESPN that his coach told him it might be time to get a haircut, but he would have none of it.

Unfortunately, Polamalu is not the only athlete in the world who has been sacked by his hair.  A brutal video of Elizabeth Lambert, a New Mexico University soccer player, was released in 2009. Among other serious fouls and infractions, it showed her ripping an opposing player’s ponytail backwards, pulling her to the ground. The video became an Internet sensation, with more than 3 million views on YouTube in just one of the many versions of the video. Apparently people found it hilarious to watch a girl get taken advantage of because of her long hair.

As a veteran of quite a few sports both on land and in water, I also know how hard a full head of hair is to manage when competing. During one fateful soccer game, my hair was in a ponytail, and the ball came straight for me. I completely missed it, but the ball grazed my ponytail on the way out of bounds. The whistle blew, and the ball was called out on me!

“Are you kidding me?” I yelled at the referee. “There is no way that should be their ball. It was my hair, for god’s sake!” But the referee would not have any of it. He simply smirked and made a smart comment about how my hair should have been in a bun.
Sadly, even a bun would not help my hair problems in water sports. During water polo games, I would look like a conehead under the tiny water polo caps.
“Why don’t you just wear a swim cap?” people would ask.
“Because it won’t stay on my head!” I’d always respond. I’ve tried every swim cap I could find-from the cheap to the expensive, from the latex to the silicone.  Every single one of them would work at first, but then slowly work its way back off my forehead like the receding hairline of a 65-year-old man, whose hairstyle I actually find quite appealing when playing sports.
Sometimes I wonder if chopping all my hair off would be the best solution, but the thought actually gives me nightmares. My hair is a part of me just like my personality.  I would not be the same without it.

Maybe that is why Polamalu cannot bring himself to sever the lifelong bond he has with his monstrous mane.  The hair has become part of his persona. Polamalu rose to fame due to his talent, but no one will argue that his hair didn’t help.