In an incredibly courageous move, San Antonio’s Lonnie Walker IV opened up on Instagram about sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
In a video where he gets his distinctive hairstyle shaved off, Walker, says he first grew out his hair as a cover, a mask for the insecurities and emotions he struggled to deal with. Walker, 21, said it used to give him confidence, but now it was time for him to move forward.
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“The real truth as to why I started doing this early 5th grade, it was a cloaking device for me. During the summer of my 5th grade year I was around more family. Some names will be left alone, I was around more.
“I was sexually harassed, raped [and] abused. I even got accustomed to it because, being at that age, you don’t know what is what. I was a gullible, curious kid that didn’t know what the real world was. I had a mindset that my hair was something that I can control. My hair was what I can make and create and be mine. And it gave confidence.”
In the video, Walker lays out the history of his hair as it shorn off by barber’s clippers, from when he had red mohawk through a flat top and on to the distinctive look that has been his since he came into the league.
That Walker was able to open up about this was powerful and may help some people dealing with similar issues in their lives.
Walker is a rising star in the Spurs organization who averaged 5.6 points per game for San Antonio this season. The Spurs are one of the teams going to Orlando for the NBA’s restart. The Spurs are four games behind the Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the West, if they can move up to the ninth seed and be within four games of Memphis they can be part of a two-team play-in tournament.
