‘Not short enough?’ Baseball player at Georgia university told he couldn’t play because of his hair
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.
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.
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.
Player: “I’ve never given you any attitude about my hair...”
Coach: “If you had complied with what I said, you’d got your hair cut and I wouldn’t have to keep calling you about it.”
Player: “The rule was having your hair under a certain length.”
Coach: “Which you never did.”
The coach tells the player that he understands he didn’t explain the rule properly at the beginning. The player asked the coach about discrepancies about his teammates’ hair and wonders why he can’t be back on the team.
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The coach pushes back, saying it doesn’t matter what other players are saying.
Player: “My hair is cut. I don’t know why we’re having this conversation.”
Coach: “It’s not short enough to be on the baseball team.”
Player: “My hair’s not short enough? To be on the team? Right now? How is that possible?”
Coach: “I’m the one who sets the rules. I can set whatever rule I want.”
Player: “These rules, how is that possible? I bet you $1 million that somebody else on that team that has longer hair than me.”
Coach: “We’re not taking about anyone else on the team.”
The coach ends the conversation and says he won’t let the player back on the team.
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.
“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 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. We are progressing through the required due process procedures.”
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