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Has a paragraph tirade on their timeline somewhere complaining about wearing a mask. One Twitter user in particular compared the hair lengths of this black athlete who was denied an opportunity, with a white athlete in the team. Although this act aims to combat hair discrimination, Georgia, where the university is located, has yet to implement it. The lack of protection underlines the urgency of enforcing such laws. Hair discrimination is not a new issue, and its impact goes beyond personal appearance.
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Captured on camera, this anonymous athlete accuses the head coach of preventing him from playing due to his dreadlocks. The recording seems to have first been posted to TikTok and has spread to several social media sites since. The person, who is unseen but is said to be a white coach, tells VSU baseball player Asher Akridge, who is Black, that his hair is not in compliance to play for the team. In less than 24 hours, the video went viral with over 22,000 likes and over 4,000 comments. But a source on the baseball team told WALB the video is of VSU’s Head Baseball Coach Greg Guilliams speaking with former player Asher Akridge.
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Former Jackson State player forced to cut hair at Valdosta State - ClutchPoints
Former Jackson State player forced to cut hair at Valdosta State.
Posted: Wed, 23 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
“What I should’ve said in the beginning was, ‘This is what you gotta do with your hair. And then once you do that, I’ll let you come out there,’” Guilliams responds, supposedly blaming himself for not explaining the rules better. Akridge explains to the coach about his interpretation of a hair grooming rule having to be under a certain length and how he would keep his hair tied up. 🚨 Get viral graphics, memes, rumors and trending sports news delivered right to your inbox with the Clutch Newsletter. We will now wait to see what the investigation finds and if the coach will face any type of punishment for the incident. The school issued a statement on Thursday evening announcing they've opened an inquiry into the matter.
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“The rule was to have your hair under a certain length,” the unknown player stated. As discussions about this incident continue, it remains crucial for institutions and lawmakers to address these concerns through comprehensive and inclusive policies that promote equality and respect for all individuals, regardless of their hair choices. According to WCTV, the university released a statement once the investigation had reached its conclusion. At the end of the video, Akridge shared a photo of himself in a car with his hair just below his ears, followed by a white pitcher for Valdosta whose hair appears to be flowing down past his collar. "The rule was to have your hair under a certain length," the unknown player stated. I don't know why we're having this conversation,” Akridge says in the middle of the video.
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In the leaked video, the unidentified player alleged the coach banned him from being a member of the university's baseball team solely due to the length of his natural hair. VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - Valdosta State University says it’s investigating a now-viral recorded conversation between the head baseball coach and a former player. “We’re not talking about other players on the team…We’re not going down that route. The Valdosta State baseball player’s confrontation with the coach over hair length brings attention to the ongoing issue of hair discrimination.
The student will be invited to rejoin the baseball team and a review on the hair-length policy will be initiated by the VSU Athletic Department, the VSU report said. A video that has been circulating on social media over the past 24 hours has now caught the attention of Valdosta State university officials. The video first made its way to social media after being posted by former player Asher Akridge. "VSU is aware of a viral video and is currently reviewing the situation," the university's account replied in the comments section on Instagram. The head coach wasn’t there, but we did see several other players with long hair — both White and Black players.
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The video features a phone recording of a conversation between Akridge and a coach discussing a rule of the team that players' hair can't be under a certain length. Akridge tells the coach that he complied with the rule but the coach says he hasn't. He also tells the coach that other players aren't held to the same standard as he is in reference to his hair. "We’re not talking about other players on the team…We’re not going down that route. Why would I go down that route? I don’t care what anyone else says. This is between you and me. I’m the head coach," he replied. The player believed to be at the center of the controversy with the coach over his hair is not listed currently for VSU’s baseball roster for 2023 or 2024, but is listed in official box scores posted by the university to its athletics website. On August 22nd, a former baseball player from Jackson State named Asher Akridge shared a video.
Former Jackson State player forced to cut hair at Valdosta State
After the coach admits that he didn’t adequately explain the policy, the player then attempted to point out that other players seem to have longer hair but are allowed to play on the team, but the coach did not allow for that discussion. “I’m the one that sets the rules, I can set whatever rule I want,” Guilliams says. He attempts to point out “discrepancies” in Guilliams’ policy as other players also had long hair and weren’t kicked off the team, but the coach quickly shoots it down. Hair discrimination is still a hot-button issue in the U.S., and laws were passed in various states to combat this matter. From schools to workplaces, Black individuals consistently experience hair discrimination. Nearly two dozen states passed the CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) Act to tackle such bias.
Social media users rushed to the comments to explain what they considered racially biased unequal treatment. Earlier this week, the university responded to a string of comments about the incident in a post advertising the school ahead of the upcoming academic year. Social media commenting has included accusations of racism and unequal treatment of the player in question.
Baseball-Reference, a website that aggregates baseball statistics for college and professional teams, indicates that Akridge participated in just one game for Valdosta State in 2023. A former Jackson State baseball player who transferred to Valdosta State University was forced to cut hair to play for the team. In the video, Akridge and a man who identifies himself as the head coach are in a back and forth discussion about the length of Akridge's hair being the reason why he's not allowed to play. You can't see the player or the coach during the length of the almost three minute video during which Asher is pleading to be able to play. The video, which has a picture of a VSU baseball player’s hair touching his shoulders as its opening image, had more than 30,000 likes and 5,200 comments as of Wednesday morning.
VALDOSTA, Ga. — Valdosta State University confirmed it’s looking into a viral video that allegedly shows its baseball coach telling a former player he couldn’t play because of his hair. A Georgia college’s white baseball manager is under fire after allegedly telling a black player he couldn’t play on the team because his hair was too long and didn’t conform to the rules set by the coach. The committee did not find that one race was adversely impacted more than another or that VSU’s head baseball coach targeted any one athlete when implementing the policy. However, evidence partly proved the policy inconsistency and the change in policy used as a reason for the student not to be on the team. VALDOSTA – Valdosta State University issued a statement Wednesday morning with its findings from the viral baseball incident investigation involving a white university baseball coach and a Black player arguing about the player’s hair. Former Jackson State baseball player Asher Akridge who transferred to Valdosta State was forced to cut his hair, per a video posted to TikTok on the player's account.
“The consensus is that all the baseball players, including Mr. Akridge, were given the same rule and the same policy. While we also found inconsistency in the application of at least one other policy and/or rule, there were reasonable non-discriminatory justifications provided for the disparities,” the committee findings in the report showed. In response to a video posted online on or around Aug. 22, 2023, Valdosta State University (VSU) initiated an investigation into allegations of racial discrimination and harassment against its current head baseball coach. The investigation was conducted over a five-week period by a committee led by VSU's Office of Human Resources.
A video of an apparent conversation between a Valdosta State University baseball player and his head coach is making its rounds across social media. “The VSU Office of Human Resources is conducting a comprehensive inquiry into the current matter and will address any personnel actions that are deemed to violate university policy if the inquiry reveals anything,” the statement read. Though the judge investigated the university for five weeks, it was determined the allegations against Coach Gulliams were inconsistent. What was found, however, was that the coach applied the team hair length policy not to every player, and, in fact, certain students of various racial backgrounds were allowed to skirt the policy for months at a time.
“While the positive result of the drug test (due to his failure to appear) does make Mr. Akridge ineligible to play baseball, it would not have prohibited him from being a member of the team or participating in the practices. At the time of the video, Mr. Akridge shared that he had cut his hair. The picture that he took when the video was posted indicated that his hair was off the ears and neck. Further, when he met with HR on August 23, his hair was off his ears and neck.
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