Mullet champ has Whitehall ties

The kid who was voted to have best mullet in the country has ties to Trempealeau County and those connections may have pushed him over the top in the national competition.

Known as “Mullet Boy” eight-year-old Emmitt Bailey of Menomonie was voted to have the best mullet in the entire country in the Kids Division of the 2022 Mullet Championships. Bailey received 9,896 votes to beat out second-place Eric Orta of La Joya, Texas, who had 8,404 votes.

The difference was possibly due to a push from Trempealeau County. Emmitt is the son of Whitehall High School graduate Eric Bailey and grandson of Whitehall resident Lois Bailey. 

On Friday morning, Emmitt Bailey trailed Orta by roughly 900 votes, but on Friday evening fliers asking people to vote were handed out at the WHS football game and attendees of Beef and Dairy Days were encouraged to help the local family. As voting ended Friday night, Mullet Boy came out on top.

While campaigning, Bailey received support from Wisconsin icons such as JJ Watt and Charlie Berens as well as former Minnesota Vikings player Jared Allen.