It’s 60 years later but hairy situations remain

Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees

Give a home to the fleas in my hair

A home for fleas, (yeah) a hive to bees, (yeah) a nest for birds

There ain’t no words for the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my

Hair (From the title song of the hit Broadway musical “Hair.”)

More than 60 years after I graduated from Summit Hill High School, issues about how guys wear their hair are still cropping up.

The most recent flap started when a Penn State alumnus wrote a critical letter about star safety Jonathan Sutherland’s dreadlocks, a hairstyle in which the hair is washed but not combed, and twisted while wet into tight braids or ringlets hanging down on all sides.

The man said that he and his wife, a Penn State alumna, couldn’t help but notice Sutherland’s “awful hair” during the Nittany Lions’ home opener in September against Idaho.

Sutherland made three tackles and blocked two punts as Penn State rolled to a 79-7 win, but instead of the letter-writer focusing on Sutherland’s athleticism and competence on the field, he made a big deal about his hair and said that he missed the “clean-cut men and women” who were athletes in his day and observed grooming codes.

The letter and its aftermath took center stage during Saturday’s Cotton Bowl in Dallas when Penn State defeated Memphis, 53-39, to finish off an impressive 11-2 season.

The game’s announcers spent several minutes recounting the anecdote and how Penn State Coach James Franklin used the episode as a seasonlong motivation to reinforce the concept that the team is a family whose members support each other.

Sutherland’s teammates, coaches and the massive Penn State community blasted the letter-writer and rushed to Sutherland’s defense. For his part, Sutherland said he forgives the letter-writer and thanked his teammates, coaches and fans for their support.

“Although the message was indeed rude, ignorant and judgmental, I’ve taken no personal offense because I must respect you as a person before I respect your opinion,” he wrote in a tweet.

When I was in high school, most of my friends and I sported a crew cut, which was considered a clean-cut fashion and preferred by parents and school authorities. Several of my friends, however, wore their hair and clothing in a manner that riled up some of our teachers and administrators.

Most notable among them was the late Roger Troeder, who was a fan of singer Elvis Presley and emulated the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s” rockabilly pompadour hairstyle, particularly his sideburns. Principal Kenneth Forrest would occasionally urge Roger to trim his sideburns because he said they were looking “unruly.”

Crew cuts gradually declined in popularity by the end of the ’50s, and by the mid-60s, long hair for men had become fashionable.

Every generation of young people has had its fads. I always thought it was curious that in our rush to stand out many of us conformed to wearing the same types of clothes and hairstyles. Pegged pants and white bucks were among the “in” examples of my era.

That we are still talking about what is appropriate when it comes to hair and other personal grooming decisions must be a bonanza for psychologists who analyze this type of social phenomenon.

I was delighted that coach Franklin, a fellow East Stroudsburg University graduate, put the letter-writer in his place, calling it intolerant. Some even branded it as racist.

Speaking directly about Sutherland, Franklin said he was chosen to be a team captain, made the dean’s list, has great parents and was one of the most respected members of the football program. He then paid him the ultimate compliment: “I would be so blessed if my daughters would marry someone with his character and integrity,’’ Franklin said.

It’s about time that we take that old saying to heart: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com