The Yankees will permit ‘well-groomed beards’ after changing their facial hair ordinance

The Major League Baseball franchise announced on Friday that the New York Yankees have relaxed its long-standing and stringent facial hair policy, allowing players to have well-groomed beards.

The move by Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner alters a rule that his father, George, who passed away in 2010, put in place over 50 years ago and that allowed players to choose between sporting a mustache or being clean-shaven.

“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,” Steinbrenner stated in a statement.

“It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”

According to Steinbrenner, he has been asking present and past Yankees for their opinions on the policy in recent weeks. He also mentioned that the policy has been the focus of continuous internal discussions for a number of years.