A controversy over a 14-year-old basketball player's hair is heading all the way to federal court, as his parents are filing suit over the constitutionality of barring him from playing high school basketball because of his refusal to shear his locks.
According to the Indianapolis Star, the son of Patrick and Melissa Hayden was kicked off Greensburg Junior High's team because he would not adhere to coach Stacy Meyer's clean-cut hair policy.
The linchpin of the legal argument seems to be whether or not an extracurricular activity such as basketball is a privilege or a right.
There is precedent in the case. In 2003, a Missouri court ruled that a coach could bar a player from participating in sports — though the judge did remark that such was an "asinine, stupid rule."
The school has also claimed that hairstyles that "create problems of health and sanitation, obstruct vision, or call undue attention to the athlete" are all reasons for dismissal from the team.
