New York Yankees former playing Derek Jeter. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Derek Jeter posts hilarious reaction to end of Yankees' facial hair policy

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Feb 22, 2025 8:58 AM ET

Derek Jeter played under the New York Yankees’ strict facial hair policy for his entire MLB career. But now, thanks to the magic of artificial intelligence, we finally know what he might have looked like otherwise.

The Yankees shocked the baseball world on Friday by announcing the end of their longstanding policy against facial hair (other than mustaches). Beginning in the 2025 season, the Yankees will now allow “well-groomed beards” on their players.

You can read Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner’s complete statement on the policy change here.

In reaction to the news, the retired former Yankees captain Jeter posted a hilarious image to his Instagram page. Jeter shared an AI-generated photo of himself rocking a beard in his Yankees jersey.

“New rules!” Jeter wrote in his caption.

Derek Jeter on Instagram#Yankees pic.twitter.com/7SC2D8OUer
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) February 21, 2025

The Yankees’ policy had been in place for nearly 50 years after being implemented by George Steinbrenner, Hal’s father, who owned the team from 1973 until he died in 2010. The clean-cut nature of their players helped the Yankees develop an iconic image, and the no-facial-hair policy quickly became a trademark of their franchise. Jeter, who played for New York from 1995-2014, was a significant part of that, with the tidy and professional aura he carried throughout his playing career.

But Jeter might not have been the biggest fan of the policy as he later refused to implement it at a subsequent MLB stop. Now Jeter has won the Internet for the day with his fantastic reaction to the Yankees’ facial hair ban finally ending.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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