The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's chancellor confirmed in an email to all students Tuesday that a school investigation is underway into a racial discrimination complaint filed against a coach.
A former player says the coach's disapproval of his dreadlocks hairstyle led to his dismissal from the university's basketball team.
The complaint is against Jim Boone, hired in April to lead the school's men's basketball team, a university spokeswoman said.
"Boone's action of policing black hair is a form of pervasive racism and bias," states a letter from the former player, Tyler Williams, 22, and his parents. Williams, who attended high school in Oklahoma, has transferred to Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma.
In a few areas outside Arkansas, people have advocated for laws or rules to prohibit biases based on "natural" hairstyles, such as dreadlocks and Afros. They say black students and black workers are disproportionately discriminated against because of their hair.
Chancellor Terisa Riley identified neither Boone nor Williams by name in her message sent to students, and staff and faculty members. The email referred to the discrimination complaint as "widely publicized on social media."
"The Department of Human Resources has not issued a final report; thus, I will not comment on specifics of the investigation in order to protect the rights of the employee and former student," Riley said in the email, which stated that the university "will not tolerate racism or retaliation." Riley said the complaint was received "approximately two weeks ago."
Boone, a head basketball coach for 33 seasons, referred questions from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to attorney Tom Mars.
"Coach Boone's attitude about player's hair styles is admittedly old-school, but it's not discriminatory," Mars said in an email, adding that Boone's "attitude" would be same if dealing with Larry Bird, an NBA legend who is white.
Mars said Williams' story should be thought of in the context of players seeking permission to change schools.
"In this case, we have a student-athlete who has already used the 'one-time transfer without penalty' exception to avoid sitting out a year following a transfer from one school to another," Mars said. "Therefore, the only way he'll be able to play basketball next season is to create a narrative that might cause the NCAA to believe that he transferred because he was somehow mistreated by his former school's coaching staff."
On Sunday, a person describing herself as a UAFS student posted the letter from Williams and his family, sparking numerous online comments about Boone.
Williams and his family provided a copy of their letter to the Democrat-Gazette and agreed to a telephone interview.
They say that in a summer meeting Boone criticized Williams, an honor roll student, over his hair.
"The first time [Williams] met the coach face to face, the first thing the coach said was, 'I do not like your hair, and I will not recruit players with hair like yours,'" Reggie Williams, father of Tyler Williams, told The Chop Shop Sports Radio, a program broadcast on Facebook.
Boone did not order him to change his hair -- which photos show is cut short on the sides and pulled back, with a low-profile top -- but Tyler Williams said he "felt devalued and disrespected."
Williams and his parents met with Boone on Aug. 16, shortly before the beginning of classes, they said.
Boone "did say it had nothing to do with race, but deep down, if you really look at it, it has everything to do with race," Tyler Williams said.
After Williams and his family raised their concerns in the meeting, Boone became angry, according to the family.
"After the discussion we had, I told him I still wanted to stay. I told him I still wanted to play," Tyler Williams said. But the coach "just told me that I could keep my scholarship, but I'm no longer in his program."
Last year, Williams was the second-leading scorer with an average of 12.9 points per game, according to his UAFS player profile published online. Asked why he lost his spot on the team, Tyler Williams said: "Because of my hair."
The family forwarded an audio recording of the meeting to the university, and Rachel Putman, UAFS spokeswoman, confirmed that the audio is part of the school's investigation.
Tiffini Williams, Tyler Williams' mother, said: "We need an apology, and Jim Boone needs to no longer be employed by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith."
Mars, however, said Tyler Williams "transferred to a school in Oklahoma because Coach Boone had recruited some players who were more talented."
On social media, some students at UAFS expressed anger over reports of Boone's remarks and actions.
"This is infuriating to see happen at my own school. Racism has no place on our campus. We need meaningful change," John Faught, a UAFS student posted on Twitter.
Student Meghan McDaniel, 21, described in an email how her feelings toward the school have changed.
"I have always been proud to be a student at UAFS, but now I'm not sure I want to be affiliated with the university. Students at UAFS deserve to know we are safe from discrimination of any sort, and while UAFS Administration says discrimination isn't tolerated on campus, it seems as if they are dragging their feet on this important issue," said McDaniel, who is from Pearcy.
Others said they needed more information.
"Our university is currently investigating the situation, so we don't know all the details of the case," Karissa Cole, president of the university's Black Student Association, said in an email. "Speaking on behalf of the Black Student Association, we have no comment at this time."
Abre' Conner, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, said a new state law enacted this year in California addresses the issue of hair-related biases.
"We know that far too often black hairstyles, when there's discrimination that's involved in employment situations and in schools, that the discrimination is often used negatively against black people," Conner said.
Metro on 09/04/2019