BRIMLEY - It's not because Brimley senior Kellen Perron couldn't cut it on the varsity basketball team that he was cut from the roster, but rather, because he wouldn't cut it - his hair that is. One week before the Bays first game of the season, Perron was informed that he was not welcome back to practice. His offense, - refusing to cut his locks.
Aside from the fact that Perron was Brimley's October Student of the Month, has an unblemished disciplinary record at the school, is on the honor roll, or the fact that he has been playing basketball each season since the fourth grade, Perron's recent refusal to cut his shoulder length hair was enough to cause his varsity coach Reg Robbins to kick him off the team.
So when Brimley tipped off their 2005-2006 season on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Sault High, Perron was not there. Not on the court, at least. He was, however, watching the game from the sidelines, cheering on his friends and recording stats for the team. Friends he's played with at every level since the fourth grade.
"It's a weird feeling," said Perron of watching his former teammates playing without him. "I feel guilty because I should be out there with them. I just don't understand why I should have to cut my hair to shoot a ball in a hoop. Basketball is something that is supposed to be fun, not your life."
According to Brimley Area Schools Superintendent Al Kantola, Brimley has no official policy on how long a player's hair can be. The school allows the coach to make all decisions about how their players should present themselves, including the length of their hair, or whether or not they have facial hair or wear jewelry, Kantola added. In this case, Robbins decided Perron had no place on the team if he didn't conform to preference.
"This has been a team rule since the 1960s," Robbins said. "It's just never been an issue before. Sure, kids always grumbled, but they went home and got their hair cut. We also require them to shave their beards and to wear a dress shirt and tie on gameday. Hair will grow back; beards will grow back. This shouldn't be an issue."
Brimley's preference allowed another player on the team to keep his long hair because of his Native American heritage, but would not allow Perron to do so, even though he resides on the Bay Mills Indian reservation and is an enrolled member of the Bay Mills Indian Community. Perron said that while his Native American heritage and culture is a very important part of who he is as a person, it has nothing to do with why he wears his hair long. Simply put, Perron said he wears his hair long because he likes it.
"It's a part of who I am," Perron said of his long hair. "It took me two years to grow it this long. It's just as much a part of me as anything else. I do have a life outside of basketball. At the end of the day I don't want to look like a Brimley basketball player, I want to look like Kellen Perron."
