A 12-year-old fan of Spurs basketball player Matt Bonner was forced to shave his head after being sent home from school last week. The boy had shaved an image of Bonner’s face into the bright red hair on the back of his head to show his support of the Spurs entering the playoffs.
This story has received huge media coverage all across the county. It was debated on ESPN’s “The Hornet’s Nest,” and even mentioned by Bonner himself. He calls the situation “Hairgate;” he then added humorously that he has “never considered himself a controversial figure or very distracting.” Overall, he was quite flattered by the hair cut and called it “the nicest thing any fan has done for me.”
Patrick Gonzalez got his intricate buzz from Razor Sharp Cuts located in San Antonio, Texas. The barber, adequately called Joe Barber, is renowned for his unique talent of shaving detailed faces of men’s hair. He showed news reporters his previous designs which included shaving three Spurs’ faces into a customer’s head.
Gonzalez is a big fan of Matt Bonner’s similar red hair and basketball skills. “I like his three point shots,” he told news outlets. Patrick was so excited about the cut once it was finished. Unfortunately, his school did not agree despite getting permission before hand for the cut. Apparently it was too distracting and that is forbidden in the school’s dress code. Gonzalez was given an in-school suspension and forced to shave it before returning to class the next day.
The Gonzalez family was disappointed over how the situation was handled by the school. Patrick’s mother, Rose Gonzalez, did not understand why her son received such a severe punishment because “didn’t do anything wrong.” She even mentioned that she had seen other kids wearing designs in their hair. Despite the questionable actions of the school, Patrick shaved his head as he was told.
Bonner’s suggestion was to move Patrick to the back of the class where other students would not be distracted. There is no going back now, though, and Bonner was glad Patrick listened to his school.
Gonzalez may never see his beloved Bonner haircut again, but he did get to meet Bonner in person! (See photo above from the San Antonio Express-News.) The Spurs forward sent Matt and his family tickets to the playoff game on Thursday night. The two redheads got a chance to meet face to face before the Spurs’ game against the Clippers.
If Bonner is not careful, he will have to eat his words. He promised Gonzalez that he would shave his image into his head if Patrick ever makes it to the NBA. Patrick was quite excited about the idea.
