Ryan Grice-Mullen
Ryan Grice-Mullen loves his hair.
His hair is part of him, the long, ropey dreadlocks splashing out from underneath his helmet - XL to accommodate the mass that has taken six years to grow - and across his shoulders.
There's nothing the Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver and kick-returner would like better during the Grey Cup than to break a long run for a touchdown off a punt or a kick-off, his locks bouncing off his pads, clackety, clack…….
He just better hope Alouettes defensive tackle Eric Wilson is nowhere within reach.
The hair is considered part of the body, by rule, so Wilson figures if he can get a handful of it, he will.
"I'd yank'em straight to the ground, but that's me," said Wilson. "It's not a horse-collar, right? Those guys decide to grow their hair, it's their personal thing. But oh yeah, if I have a chance to grab a guy by the hair, I'm going to do it."
Wilson is a bit more ruthless than most, though not a single defender interviewed about the etiquette of tackling by hair said they'd have a moment's remorse if they made a hair-string tackle rather than a shoe-string one.
"I'm not going to aim for it, but if it's there, it's there," said 'Rider defensive tackle Marcus Adam, who sports a closely-short dome.
Tackling-by-hair emerged as an issue recently when the Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh pulled down Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber by his hair. He was assessed a penalty on the play - incorrectly as it turned out because the referee judged he had horse-collared Barber by pulling the neck of his shoulder pads.
That's not allowed. Pulling someone down by their flowing locks? A-Ok.
It doesn't happen that often though are some "God that must hurt" videos on Youtube, here, here and here.
Grice-Mullen says he's never been brought down by his dreads though he has had them tugged several times.
"It's not like guys do it on purpose," he said. "I don't have a problem with the rule because your hair is part of your body and I'm choosing to let it hang out."
But he does cringe at the possibility of someone grabbing a fistful of his beloved locks.
"It would hurt, that's for sure," he said. "It'd be bleeding."
But his hair has been with him now for years, and he can't imagine changing. And there are fringe benefits.
Do the ladies appreciate his mane?
"Oh yeah," he smiles. "Without a doubt."