"What a disgrace": Stephen A. Smith slams Yankees for unnecessary drama over facial hair policy

TOI Sports Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Feb 22, 2025, 18:17 IST

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The New York Yankees recently announced a relaxation of their longstanding facial hair policy, leading to mixed reactions. NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith criticized the team for holding a 20-minute press conference on the matter, emphasizing that their focus should be on ending their World Series drought.

"What a disgrace": Stephen A. Smith slams Yankees for unnecessary drama over facial hair policy

Image via: NBAE/Getty

In a controversial turn regarding the facial hair policy that has been followed for decades, the New York Yankees went agog last week. They switched from keeping their players' faces clean like their uniforms to loosening the rules over the years. They announced this to the applause of the crowd, but the aftermath was the sensational part of the whole thing.

Stephen A. Smith Criticizes Yankees for 20-Minute Press Conference on Facial Hair Policy

In the middle of the hysteria surrounding the news, fiery Stephen A. Smith had a major bone to pick with the whole situation. The NBA analyst and lifelong Yankees fan took up the mantle of getting things off his chest on SportsCenter.
“A 20-minute press conference over facial hair? I mean, what a disgrace,” Smith roared, clearly exasperated. “You ain’t won a World Series title since 2009. You ain’t been to one since then until last year—you got romped by the Dodgers. And facial hair is the reason there was a press conference?”

Smith-the free-thinker with no filter for opinion, was puzzled why so much fuss was made out of it. Reshaping the image of the Yankees had been on the cards for quite some time, and to him, discussing facial hair was far from priority.
Fans, on the other hand, felt that loosening the facial hair regulations meant the franchise was moving forward. He, however, had a beef with the whole media circus that seemed to erupt over the change in policy. After all, there is still that World Series drought resting heavily on the backs of the Yankees.

Stephen A.'s response to Yankees dropping their facial hair policy 🗣️ WRONG PRIORITY! | First Take

The only issue standing between the Yankees and a championship may be the performance level of the team and not the number of players with mustaches or beards on the field. Either way, Stephen A. Smith will be watching, most probably ranting along the way.

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TOI Sports Desk

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