Sports

Teen Kicked Off Baseball Team For Growing Hair To Donate To Cancer Patients

Sarah Hofmann Contributor
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A 16-year-old in Canada is protesting against his baseball coach who cut the teen from the team for refusing to cut his hair.

Liam Nazarek says that he has been growing out his hair to donate to cancer patients who need wigs.

Nazarek’s mother Kim Jorgenson confronted the coach of the Pincher Creek Junior Dust Devils, Bryan MacKenzie, and posted the video online.

“You need to be respectful of your coach,” Jorgenson says in the video. “You need to be respectful of the rules of the game. I don’t think your hair has anything to do with that.”

MacKenzie responded, “I have a rule on my baseball team, and I’ve had the same rule for the past six or seven years — I tell the kids, have your hair at respectable length, and look like ball players. I stick by my words. I guess I’m old school, you bet. Why does it matter? Because I’m trying to teach these kids about some character, and some life skills. This isn’t about catching a ball — it’s about getting along on a team, and about being respectable young people, and to be able to cope in life, because you’re always going to be dealing with rules and people.”

The Pincher Creek Minor Baseball Association is standing behind MacKenzie’s decision, Opposing Views reports.

“The parent in this situation manipulated the situation using social media,” the organization said in a statement. “This is totally unacceptable if not only because it sets a terrible example for our children. There was no respect in this situation whatsoever.”

Nazarek has been offered a slot with a neighboring team, but he hasn’t accepted it yet.

Was the coach right to kick him off for his long hair? Tweet at Sarah with your opinion

Sarah Hofmann