Mohawk gives fame to obscure
Diversity is a loaded term. Is a workforce diverse when it attains a mix of races, genders, styles, creeds, sexual orientations and economic, geographic and political backgrounds?
That’s merely a start.
A workforce is not truly diverse until it has an employee with a Mohawk.
The Carolina Panthers are diverse. Justin Hartwig, the team’s new free-agent center, has a thick strip of brown hair that runs down the middle of his head. He acquired it last season when he played for the Tennessee Titans. It was supposed to be a training camp ‘do but became something more.
"It’s my trademark," he said.
When the look was new, Hartwig walked into a Target in Nashville. A woman began to stare and did not stop. The stare suggested, are you aware you have a Mohawk?
Hartwig, 27, was aware, thanks.
People also walk up and tell him, "You’re tall."
In related news, he also is aware that he is 6-foot-4 and that he weighs 312 pounds.
Hartwig is my new favorite starting center. It’s easy to blend in, tough to stand out. But I know some of you are thinking, why would it be tough for a guy from Tennessee to have a Mohawk? In Tennessee, it takes guts not to have a Mohawk.
Wrong. Hartwig is of Tennessee but not from Tennessee. He grew up in Iowa and played at Kansas.
And he’s an offensive lineman. When was the last time a Panthers offensive lineman stood out? It probably was in the mid-1990s when Frank Garcia took on the roster of the Oakland Raiders and was ahead on the cards of all three judges when referees stepped in.
I guess Jeff Mitchell, Hartwig’s predecessor at center, also stood out when he was caught up in the steroid scandal.
Hartwig praised Mitchell, who started five seasons for Carolina. Nice touch; Mitchell should be praised. Mitchell was a good teammate and is a good man, and one episode does not undo a career’s worth of good work.
Hartwig is younger and healthier than Mitchell and, despite the Mohawk, almost as obscure. The interview he did with three of us Friday was his first since signing in March.
He came with advice.
"You have to think outside the box," he said with enthusiasm.
Caught up in the moment, a gray-haired reporter asked Hartwig if he should get a Mohawk.
"Go for it," Hartwig said.
Do it. I’ll pay at the barbershop, and you’ll pay when you get home.
Not everybody can make the look work. After the first practice of mini-camp Friday morning, Hartwig’s Mohawk was matted with sweat. A small animal appeared to have been dropped from a great height, landed with a splat and decided to stay.
Um, are you married?
His answer was not, "I was until I got my hair cut."
His answer was, "My girlfriend loves it. Women love it."
So if you’re a single guy who would like a girlfriend, get a Mohawk.
And sign a five-year, $17 million contract with a $7 million signing bonus.
Sign the contract first.
