# In sporting events (amateur and/or professional...any level) can an athlete be made to cover a tattoo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539 "2023-09-03T03:55:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/21 "2023-09-05T20:41:02Z")
What about Maori facial tattoos? They aren’t commercial or offensive images, could they withstand a ‘no visible tattoos’ rule? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/22 "2023-09-05T20:46:06Z")
The Yankees have a no long hair and no facial hair except mustaches policy that’s been strictly enforced for nearly 50 years. As far as I know it’s never been challenged on religious means. > **[New York Yankees appearance policy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Yankees_appearance_policy)** > > Since 1976, the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) have maintained a strict appearance policy, specifying that players' hair must not touch their collars and that they may have mustaches but no other facial hair. The policy came from then-franchise owner George Steinbrenner, who believed that regulating his players' appearance would instill a sense of discipline. Steinbrenner began noting which players he believed needed haircuts when he took over the Yankees in 1973, but the pol... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/23 "2023-09-05T21:11:10Z")
Has anyone with long hair or facial hair as a religious expression ever played for the Yankees? I don’t know if the tattoo issue has ever come up. The SCOTUS seems to be evolving on this issue. I think the US military allows beards for religious reasons. There may be no factual answer to this sub-question. Attitudes about tattoos have evolved just as they did with hair styles and gender specific uniforms. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/24 "2023-09-05T21:34:10Z")
Can I refuse to hire you with the stated reason being I don’t like your tattoos? (and when I say, “Can I…” I mean absolutely any potential employer in the US.) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/25 "2023-09-05T21:43:31Z")
I’d think as long as they weren’t religious you could refuse, yes, though IANAL. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/26 "2023-09-05T21:47:40Z")
Being tattooed isn’t a “protected class” in U.S. employment law; faith/religion is a protected class, but though IANAL either, I’m not sure if simply having “religious tattoos” would qualify as being protected, unless, perhaps, such tattoos were mandated as a part of one’s faith. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/27 "2023-09-05T21:49:34Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I’d think as long as they weren’t religious you could refuse, yes, though IANAL. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m not sure if simply having “religious tattoos” would qualify as being protected, unless, perhaps, such tattoos were mandated as a part of one’s faith. Doesn’t the bible forbid tattoos? So, if you have (say) a cross tattooed on you couldn’t I use that as a reason to not hire you? IANAL either ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/28 "2023-09-05T21:55:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Being tattooed isn’t a “protected class” in U.S. employment law; faith/religion is a protected class, but though IANAL either, I’m not sure if simply having “religious tattoos” would qualify as being protected, unless, perhaps, such tattoos were mandated as a part of one’s faith. A little research produced this webpage from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on religious discrimination. A few relevant passages: > [@](#): > > (Title VII prohibits) denying a requested reasonable accommodation of an applicant’s or employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices – or lack thereof – if an accommodation will not impose more than a _de minimis_ cost or burden on business operations > [@](#): > > Religious observances or practices include, for example, attending worship services, praying, wearing religious garb or symbols, displaying religious objects, adhering to certain dietary rules, proselytizing or other forms of religious expression, or refraining from certain activities. Whether a practice is religious depends on the employee’s motivation. The same practice might be engaged in by one person for religious reasons and by another person for purely secular reasons (_e.g.,_ dietary restrictions, tattoos, etc.). > [@](#): > > Similarly, requests for accommodation of a “religious” belief or practice could include, for example: a Catholic employee requesting a schedule change so that he can attend church services on Good Friday; a Muslim employee requesting an exception to the company’s dress and grooming code allowing her to wear her headscarf, or a Hindu employee requesting an exception allowing her to wear her bindi (religious forehead marking); an atheist asking to be excused from the religious invocation offered at the beginning of staff meetings; an adherent to Native American spiritual beliefs seeking unpaid leave to attend a ritual ceremony; or an employee who identifies as Christian but is not affiliated with a particular sect or denomination requests accommodation of his religious belief that working on his Sabbath is prohibited. tl;dr: It appears that, if a tattoo is an expression of a “sincerely held religious belief,” it may be protected. Edit: source provided. > **[Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-and-answers-religious-discrimination-workplace)** > > Notice Concerning the Undue Hardship Standard in Title VII Religious Accommodation Cases. This document was issued prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Groff v. DeJoy, 143 S. Ct. 2279 (2023). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/29 "2023-09-05T21:57:49Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > tl;dr: It appears that, if a tattoo is an expression of a “sincerely held religious belief,” it may be protected. What about my sincerely held religious belief that no one should be tattooed? (for the sake of argument…I do not really hold that belief…but someone might since it is [actually in the bible](https://daily.jstor.org/why-does-the-bible-forbid-tattoos/)) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/30 "2023-09-05T22:01:21Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > What about my sincerely held religious belief that no one should be tattooed? (for the sake of argument…I do not really hold that belief…but someone might) As an employer? You’re allowed to believe that, but as per Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you aren’t allowed to let that enter into your hiring decisions if you have 15 or more employees. As per the site I shared above: > [@](#): > > (Title VII prohibits) treating applicants or employees differently based on their religious beliefs or practices – or lack thereof – in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring, assignments, discipline, promotion, and benefits (disparate treatment) However, there is an exemption in that law for religious organizations, though it’s limited to organizations in which the “purpose and character are primarily religious” – so, churches count, but secular businesses run by members of a particular faith don’t qualify for the exemption. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/31 "2023-09-05T22:03:44Z")
But… _Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores_ (US Supreme Court) > The Green family owns and operates Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a national arts and crafts chain with over 500 stores and over 13,000 employees. The Green family has organized the business around the principles of the Christian faith and has explicitly expressed the desire to run the company according to Biblical precepts, one of which is the belief that the use of contraception is immoral. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), employment-based group health care plans must provide certain types of preventative care, such as FDA-approved contraceptive methods. While there are exemptions available for religious employers and non-profit religious institutions, there are no exemptions available for for-profit institutions such as Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. - [SOURCE](https://www.oyez.org/cases/2013/13-354) Seems employer religious beliefs matter. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/32 "2023-09-06T03:36:07Z")
Nick Symmonds is an American former 800-meter runner who [auctioned off (on eBay)](https://money.com/t-mobile-tattoo-nick-symmonds-olympics/) space on his shoulder for a temporary tattoo in 2016. T-Mobile won the auction with a bid of $21,800. He was required - and clearly stated in the listing that this would be the case - to cover the tattoo in competition because it displayed a sponsor logo. (Sanctioning bodies in track and field very tightly restrict advertising on athletes and their uniforms, and in fact the entire exercise was a protest against this state of affairs.) Symmonds did something similar in the previous Olympic cycle, in 2012. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/33 "2023-09-06T17:12:19Z")
It wasn’t a sporting event but Survivor contestant/winner Ben Driebergen had a [bandage covering a tattoo](https://survivingtribal.com/2017/12/21/survivor-season-35-finale-ben-bandage/) during both his seasons. The official explanation is that it was John Deere logo and couldn’t be shown because it’s copyrighted. I think that’s shading the reason a bit - I’m sure John Deere would have been happy to get the free advertising on a popular show. But CBS likely didn’t want to give them free advertising, especially since it would be problematic with any potential sponsors who compete with JD. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/34 "2023-09-06T17:34:05Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m sure John Deere would have been happy to get the free advertising on a popular show. Not necessarily if the contestant was a real jerk. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539/35 "2023-09-06T17:41:13Z")
He wasn’t though. He was an extremely popular player, with both his fellow contestants (they voted him $1 million after all) and the fans. He’s also a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. Sure, the producers wouldn’t have known how popular he was the first time around, but they made him wear the bandage in his second season too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-sporting-events-amateur-and-or-professional-any-level-can-an-athlete-be-made-to-cover-a-tattoo/989539.md?page=1)