Teenagers respond to the PHS Dreadlock Gate

I was talking to some teenagers in my family about the issue of Dreadlock Gate that is currently playing out over at Peoria High School. Here are some of their thoughts:

from pjstar

"Out of all of the things that Mr. Ruffin does to students, he gets suspended for this?"

"Rahkim's hair is neatly pulled back. In girls sports we are required to pull our hair back and use a band that doesn't have metal; why can't the boy's teams do that?"

"In ballet class we HAVE to wear a bun."

Chicago Bull's Joakim Noah

"Dr. Lathan wears braids sometimes of course she is going to stand up for Rahkim."

"Why they messing with Coach Ruffin? Parents complain about teachers all the time and they don't care. She just don't like Coach Ruffin."

#keepingitreal

Frankly, this is a no win situation for The District. I personally find the whole incident very unfortunate, because it is bringing scrutiny to how a large number of people, mainly African-American, wear their hair.

Sports aside - some of us got hair issues that play into how we as people interact with each other. 

I have people in my family who wear dreads/braids/locks and it is possible to pull them back very neatly AND professionally, if necessary. There is nothing wrong with Rahkim's dreads, if that is how he wants to wear his hair. A requirement to cut if you want to play is extreme.