Videotaped conversation about VSU athlete's hair going viral

Table Of Content

• VIDEO: Valdosta State baseball player alleges coach barred him from playing over hair length
• Nick Saban calls out Amarius Mims selection, says Mims took himself out of SEC championship game
• Players
• Valdosta State University Baseball Coach Cleared Of Racial Discrimination In Hair-Length Controversy In Georgia

EssentiallySports is a digital-first sports media house that surfaces the best stories on America's favorite sports celebrities with a fan's perspective to 30+ M average monthly readers. “In keeping with the Valdosta State University Non-Discrimination Policy, the university is committed to maintaining a fair, respectful, and non-discriminatory environment for all,” the school said. “All the people interviewed (not counting the complainant and respondent) stated they believed that Mr. Akridge’s departure from the team was due to something other than race,” the report showed. The Valdosta Daily Times requested more information with details on the investigation report. Hair discrimination is still a hot-button issue in the U.S. although laws were passed in various states to combat this matter.

VIDEO: Valdosta State baseball player alleges coach barred him from playing over hair length

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.

Nick Saban calls out Amarius Mims selection, says Mims took himself out of SEC championship game

VSU has since released a statement in relation to the coach’s comments. TheGrio contacted the school multiple times for a statement but did not receive a response by press time. It’s that he’s not enforcing the rule with everybody on the team,” a TikTok user wrote. At the end of the video, Akridge showed a picture of his thin locs that barely hung past his ears.

Valdosta State University investigating coach’s controversial comments - WALB

Valdosta State University investigating coach’s controversial comments.

Posted: Thu, 24 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Players

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.

Former Jackson State player forced to cut hair at Valdosta State

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. The video does not show the faces of the coach and player, but WALB-TV identified the player as Asher Akridge, who is Black, and the coach as head coach Greg Guilliams. Collected feedback from the overall perceptions of the interviewees found that the issue was not racial or discriminatory. Current players and alumni dating to 2007 who interacted with the coach also shared feedback to the committee. The report said their feedback indicated that Guilliams has never exhibited racially discriminatory behavior in the past.

Baseball Reference, a website that compiles baseball statistics for college and professional teams, lists Akridge as only participating in one game in 2023 for VSU. In a leaked video posted to a TikTok account asherthegreat24, you can hear the player discussing the length of his hair with the coach and trying to get back on the team. In a video posted to TikTok by Akridge with the caption “Valdosta State University 2023 or 1945,” a player tells the coach he was always respectful and always complied with the strict hair policy. The statement said the coach initiated a team hair-length policy that was inconsistently applied to team members. Student-athletes of various races were allowed at times to remain non-compliant with the hair-length policy, including for months at a time, the report said. The post Viral video purportedly shows college baseball coach barring student from playing because of his locs appeared first on TheGrio.

News

The video went viral on TikTok and it eventually made its way over to other high-traffic social media and video-sharing applications such as Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Upon the video going viral Valdosta State announced that they were launching an investigation. A former Valdosta State University employee and 2004 national championship football team member was upset by the dialogue in the viral video.

"VSU is aware of this video and is currently reviewing the situation," according to a statement released by Valdosta State University. As of Friday morning, the video has been viewed nearly 470,000 times on TikTok. Valdosta State issued a statement confirming it’s looking into the video. Neither Guilliams nor any of the baseball coaching staff, athletics directors, or Valdosta State University administration immediately returned The Daily Beast’s multiple requests for comment Thursday. “Are you a college that allows the ‘Head Coach’ of your Baseball team to openly discriminate against players? ” a Facebook user commented on an unrelated post on Valdosta’s page.

The TikTok bears the watermark, asherthegreat24 and is posted to his account with the hashtag, #valdostastateuniversity. Captions with the video include "Valdosta state university 2023 or 1945." Guilliams ends the conversation and tells Akridge there’s nothing that could put him back on the baseball team. In a TikTok video posted Tuesday by Asher Akridge, the athlete can be heard conversing with Valdosta State University Baseball Head Coach Greg Guilliams. "If you want to be treated like everyone else, then follow the rules I give you," the head coach is heard saying. Asher, who is black, repeatedly asked the head coach, who is white, why he's making this decision, to which the head coach does not budge.

“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.

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.