New York Yankees Move to Reality, Will Now Allow Players To Grow Beards

The New York Yankees officially announced earlier Friday that they have changed their longstanding grooming policy and will now allow players to have "well kept" beards and facial hair.

Welcome to 2025, Yankees!

The new announcement, which was released via social media the same way major player signings and trades are revealed (because this is the Yankees after all) happened ahead of Friday's Spring Training opener and comes after the policy has been met with some push back in recent years from the younger generation.

YANKEES WILL ALLOW WELL GROOMED BEARDS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 70s

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced that, after conversations with former and current players and after much consideration, "Ultimately, the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy."

Not all Yankees fans are happy about it, however, including myself, who is a bit torn about the whole thing.

The one thing about the Yankees was that of tradition. Sure, to everyone else, it seemed lame that the Yankees had a self-imposed "wellness policy" that would forbid players from looking unkept, which was owner George Steinbrenner's intention when he announced the policy in 1976. This is the Yankees we're talking about here, 27 World Series Championships. There's a reason we are who we are - be it the wellness policy, or the fact that we still don't have any names on the back of our jerseys. It's tradition, it's history, it's legacy.

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The younger fans and many on social media, however, disagree. They have been posting all Friday morning how much they love the new rule and how the younger players will appreciate it as well. Most recently, new Yankees closer Devin Williams who recently signed with the team, publicly expressed his frustration with having to shave his beard earlier this week. It's unclear if that had anything to do with Steinbrenner's new policy change but the timing lines up. 

In the end, be it beards or no beards, long hair or short hair, the most important thing is who can score the most runs, regardless of what they look like.

The Yankees are hoping that players feeling a bit more comfortable with their appearance will help them in that department.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE YANKEES NEW POLICY? TWEET ME: @TheGunzShow