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Yankees Legend Shares Disappointment Over Team’s New Beard Rules

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Feb 28, 2025 2:17 PM ET

New York Yankees legend Bernie Williams spent his entire playing career clean-shaven, and not by choice.

Williams followed the organization’s decades-old facial hair policy like every other teammate and coach. The five-time All-Star hung around long enough to see former Boston Red Sox star Johnny Damon shave his distinctive long hair and beard upon joining the Yankees ahead of the 2006 season.

Now sporting what he calls a “6 O’Clock Shadow,” Williams admitted he has “mixed emotions” over the Yankees’ revised beard rules. The Yankees announced earlier this month that players could begin wearing “well-groomed facial hair” immediately.

“It kind of sets us apart as a team, as an organization,” Williams told the New York Post.

Players previously could wear mustaches or display stubble. However, the club banned beards and hair below the lip for nearly 50 years.

“The whole baseball community ... people used to say that was one of the things that they liked about the Yankees, that they kept that clean-cut image,” Williams added.

Current and former Yankees players are divided. Damon vehemently disagreed with the rule change, and captain Aaron Judge advocated for the policy to remain in place.

Others, including Hall of Famers CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter, openly supported the new rules. Jeter even posted an edited picture of him rocking a beard in a Yankees uniform.

“New rules!” Jeter wrote on Instagram.