Says Denying Players the Right to Grow Beards for Religious Reasons May Violate State’s Human Rights Law
Andrew Sack, a sports law attorney with The Law Offices of Steven Mitchell Sack in Garden City, lauded the New York Yankees for getting rid of its policy of banning facial hair on its players. Mr. Sack says continuing enforcement of the ban may not only infringe on a player’s freedom to express himself, but it might also violate the state’s Human Rights Law.
Recently, Yankees Managing Partner Hal Steinbrenner announced that the team is doing away with the facial hair ban that, ironically, was implemented by his father, then-Owner George Steinbrenner, nearly 50 years ago. The elder Steinbrenner implemented the policy because he said he could not see the players’ faces.
Sack, who also teaches sports law at LIU Post, says the mandate chased away many free agents such as former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and former Major League Baseball pitcher Brian Wilson. With the repeal of the ban on mustaches and beards, he says, the Yankees will be able to acquire more valuable players.
“This move by the New York Yankees is significant on several levels,” Sack says. “First, it may help the team attract more players to sign with the Pinstripes. Certainly, this will allow for players’ freedom of expression.”
From an employment law perspective, Sack says, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on their religious practices, including requiring them to shave their beards. “Had a player told the Yankees in the past that they needed to keep their beard due to a religious purpose and the Yankees decided not to sign a player for that reason, they could have been liable under several employment laws including Title VII and the New York City Human Rights Law,” he says.
The Yankees, however, have set limits on how long a player can grow their beard. Some religious customs call for men to grow their beards out and that is something the team must understand, Mr. Sack says. In order for the team to ban longer beards, they must prove these beards produce an “undue hardship” for the team, meaning the Yankees must consider allowing the players to maintain their longer beards as part of their respective religious practices, unless there is a legitimate business reason preventing it.
“The New York Yankees, one of the premier franchises in all of sports, certainly want to protect their image,” Sack says, “but must be cognizant of their obligations under the law.”