In some cases, players with long hair have segments of human or synthetic hair attached to their real hair to gain this long and full hairstyle, usually with dreadlocks.
This would be important as the hair will likely break more easily at the attachment point, reducing the occurrence of injuries. In this study, there was no way to make this determination based on the individual player photographs. Hair length as a function of player position The detailed analysis of the 2, players listed on the NFL roster as of July 1, was also evaluated by player position to see if any trends would emerge.
These statistics are important since some positions have an increased likelihood of being a ball carrier, and thus are more likely to be tackled legally, via the Ricky Rule while wearing long hair. For example, a running back is more likely than a lineman to carry the ball, and be exposed to a tackle.
The roster information was divided up first by the unit: offense, defense, and special team. This information was gathered for American and National conferences, as well as the NFL in its entirety.
It is clear when comparing the data in Figure 3 that more longhaired players play defense than offense or special teams. Defensive players are less likely to be carrying the ball, and hence are less likely to be exposed to the potential risks associated with hair tackling.
Thus, the fact than fewer longhaired players are on the offensive team is a good thing. There is a similar reduction in special teams, but it is less dramatic. A comparison of all NFL players to those with long hair was also evaluated for all offensive positions, as shown in Figure 4. The distribution of all NFL offensive players, regardless of hairstyle, was actually quite similar to that found of offensive players with long hair. Again, this is a good thing as the quarterback position handles the ball more than any other position, so the high frequency of short hair means less of a chance for hair-pulling injuries.
Additionally, more guards and running backs were found to have long hair. It is noted that although running backs are tackled frequently, they more commonly have long hair, which means an increased chance for injury due to hair tackling.
A similar analysis was conducted of all defensive positions, as described in Figure 5. The distribution of defensive players with and without long hair was very similar. In fact, no significant differences were found.
Finally, the positions where the player typically handles the football were also investigated, as these would be the players most likely to be tackled. It was hypothesized that if there would be any differences between the general NFL population and those with long hair, it would be in the positions where the player most commonly has the ball.
As was described above, those are the positions that are governed by the Ricky Rule and open to hair tackles.
The following three examples are offered as case studies. In each case, video of the incident was discoverable from a simple internet search, and the study tells a dramatic tale. The play was captured very clearly on video. Screenshots from the video of the interception and hair tackle are shown in Figure 7. The total playtime was 23 seconds, and a video analysis of the play showed the following five stages:.
It felt good. The investigators consider motives that Polamalu may have had to minimize reports of discomfort. Namely, he wears his hair as a symbol of his Samoan heritage. Also, Head and Shoulders, a key Polamalu sponsor, later insured his mane by Lloyds of London for one million dollars 2.
Clearly, Polamalu had strong reason to want to avoid the NFL disallowing long hair on their players. Personal freedoms of NFL players to wear their hair as they desire are described later in this paper.
Ward, Jr. What was notable in this play was that while Lynch apparently only lost one dreadlock, he immediately felt that it was gone, found it on the sideline and put it in his waistband. It is unknown if the dreadlock tore at the base of the helmet or at the scalp, but it clearly got the attention of Marshawn Lynch. Hence, it is assumed that even the loss of one dreadlock caused enough pain to get the attention of Lynch.
Screenshots from the Lynch incident are shown in Figure 8. He did not even look at him. Lynch simply bent over to pick up their hair that was on the turf and walked away It is unknown if this was a natural dreadlock or one that was added to his hair to achieve a certain hairstyle. Either way, this case study supports the hypothesis that dreadlocks are safer than other long hairstyles.
Screenshots from this incident are found in Figure 9 This illustrates that most NFL players do not have bare hands, but wear specialized gloves for increased traction with the ball. This also increases the friction during tackles and hair grabbing, hence increasing the forces transmission to the scalp and neck.
Remember, I started playing when horse-collaring was still acceptable. It was one of those things that happened in the moment. It was a little dirty play by their part, but its okay, we got the win.
It was bagged up and given to him back in the locker room. I think he was trying to grab it and pull it out. As with the Marshawn Lynch case study, is unknown if these were natural dreadlocks or not. Either way this case study supports the hypothesis that dreadlocks are safer than other long hairstyles. It is a hypothesis that a ponytail hairstyle is the style more likely to cause injury if aggressively grabbed and pulled. In addition, ponytail bands often sit high on the head, meaning a much greater torque moment and resulting forces on the neck.
Lambert was later flagged for continued penalties on the field. Beyond athletics, these type of injuries occur during domestic abuse and similar acts of violence, often against women, where non-athletes could suffer severe neck injuries. A work-energy dynamic analysis was used to estimate the forces applied to the head of the player as a function of the angle at which the hair is grabbed.
The calculations are shown in Figure The equations are based upon the free body diagram shown in Figure 12, with the player modeled as a non-rotating, non-collapsing rigid body. If one were to include ground friction, and assume it was equal to the horizontal component of the hair pulling force, this would reduce the hair forces by half.
This is a reasonable assumption during stage 3 of the Polamalu hair tackle during the tackle, prior to tumbling. The range of hair tensile forces shown in Figure 13 are an average force over the second tackle over yards stages 3 and 4 described in prior section.
Therefore, peak forces will be even greater than these reported. Collapsing the body to reduce scalp pain and resulting head and neck forces is a hypothesis. Including the non-rigid links and thousands of internal connecting tissues would improve accuracy, but are beyond the scope of this research.
This simplified analysis and results are reasonable since some of our assumptions increase the force, while others decrease the force. That hair stands may pullout of the scalp before breaking, and the maximum strength a tackler can hold onto hair are aspects that needs to be considered for future research to improve the accuracy of the analysis presented above. When is long hair the most dangerous and what could happen medically?
NFL player hair is worn in a variety of styles, but the demographic analysis conducted clearly shows that the most popular longhaired style is dreadlocks. From an engineering standpoint, dreadlocks may be the safest. Just as the knotting of a rope makes it weaker 47 , the knotting of hair also weakens it.
This was illustrated by the case studies of both Marshawn Lynch and Andre Ellington. A player wearing their hair loose and natural, without dreadlocks, as was worn by Troy Palomino, is of intermediate danger. While the hair is stronger, and more likely to transmit force through the skull to the neck, it is unlikely that all of the hair would be grabbed at once.
The danger becomes that an opponent could grab all of the hair, increasing the likelihood of force transmission to the skull and neck. What kind of injuries could we expect if a player has their hair pulled, and it does not break or pull out at the scalp, but instead transmits the force from the scalp to the neck?
It is not just the magnitude of the force that must be considered, but also the twisting motion of the neck. To minimize the occurrences of face-masking injuries, referees penalize a play up to 15 yards. However, in the NFL there is less of a penalty deterrent for hair pulling. It is likely that a hair pull will affect all three axes of forces and moments on the neck at the same time. Shear force could be significant. Neck compression forces will increase as the pulling angle is increased downward from the horizontal axis, equal the shear force at 45 degrees, and increases tremendously at higher angles Figure The shear forces can result in slipped disk, spinal cord damage, while the compression forces can result in cervical fractures.
This could result in a minor sprain, pulled muscle, or torn cervical ligament or tendon. Hence, long hair in athletics, specifically the NFL, is an issue of ethical responsibility. On the other hand, the low occurrence of reported hair-pulling injuries in the NFL, as well as the desirability of exposed long hair by professional players, has been the reason to keep the Ricky Rule.
Since then the owners have debated issues such as player name obstruction by long hair, but have not readdressed the issue of the safety of their players with long hair.
Some of the players with long hair seem to consider it an issue of personal expression. So should the NFL allow this personal expression and when employed is it reasonable for a player to lose the ability for certain personal freedoms?
If so, should a hair tackle be legal? Already the NFL players give up some personal freedoms; for example if they wear bracelets, they must be under the uniform. Hence, it is possible that hair length could also be regulated. This would likely be unpopular with many of the players who wear their hair long, so additional research must be conducted regarding the transmission of force through the hair to the skull and neck.
It may be a reasonable compromise to only allow dreadlocks that are knotted or sewn in, and disallow ponytails or braids that compress all of the exposed hair into one grab-able area.
It is the concern of these authors that a catastrophic injury of a player tackled via his hair would occur before additional attention is paid to this issue. NFL referees need to look for this type of targeting, and perhaps rules such as those in place for facemask grabs should be in place for hair pulling during blocks or against players that are not carrying the ball. Thus far, it seems that players have done a reasonably good job of regulating themselves It is not just an issue of sportsmanship, but also one of safety.
Personal foul penalties can be called for grabbing and pulling long hair during tackles and other contact situations at the high school and collegiate levels. However, this is not the case in the professional level.
Of the most common ball handling positions, long hair was most popular in running backs, and least popular in quarterbacks. Running backs have the greatest chance of being ball carriers, and thus the greatest chance of being tackled by their hair.
We believe that this is a good thing since dreadlocks should break more easily than non-knotted hair. Case studies showed that players can be tackled by their hair, and some players notice when even one dreadlock is ripped off during a play. An additional case study indicates that player in other sports can be taken down by their hair, even in soccer, where you would think that hair tackles are less likely due to rules regulating hand involvement.
This type of hair pulling can cause shear, compression, and multi-axle moments twisting of the neck. These forces have the potential to cause minor to severe player injury. Ethically the freedoms of players need to be weighed with their safety.
At the minimum, players need to be educated about the potential dangers of long hair in athletics. Athletes with strong neck muscles, needed to protect the athletes during normal contact, have greater protection from injuries due to hair tackling.
However, with the substantial number of players having long hair, and the permission of hair tackling in the NFL, athletes with long hair are putting themselves at risk for injury. In high school and college football, most referees penalize hair contact with a personal foul.
Consequently, players can be tackled by their hair. The dynamic engineering analysis conducted shows impulsive tensile hair loads in excess of lbs. Players in all sports need to decide if they want to expose themselves to such risk.
Ultimately, it becomes an ethical issue of player freedom versus risk. Alder, J. Football — special teams positions. Associated Press. Troy Polamalu has hair insured. Colgate, R. Email correspondence. Dvorchak, R. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Retrieved from post-gazette. Grunewald, C. Marshawn Lynch lost a dread [Video file]. Harris, N. Elite clubs on Uefa gravy train as Super Bowl knocked off perch. The Independent Sport. Jozsa, F. Sports Capitalism: the foreign business of American professional leagues. Aldershot, Hants, U. Long H. Football for dummies 5th ed.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. New Mexico moved quickly to announce Friday that Lambert has been suspended indefinitely. The Mountain West followed with a statement commending the Lobos for acting promptly. Lambert was the only player to be penalized in the game, getting a yellow card in the 77th minute for colliding with a BYU player who was driving toward the Lobos' net. The highlights showed the game was physical in both directions, including an elbow to Lambert's ribs by a BYU player during a dead ball.
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