FORT SMITH -- About 40 people Tuesday evening joined the parents of a former University of Arkansas at Fort Smith basketball player to condemn a coach's criticism of his hairstyle.
"For someone to base a decision about someone's life and their goals and dreams based on a hair or cultural style, that is insensitive, it's wrong and it's very upsetting," said Darneisha Airhart, a December graduate of UAFS.
Tyler Williams, who is black, wears his hair in dreadlocks. In a complaint alleging racial discrimination, Williams stated he was dismissed from the team after Jim Boone, who is white, spoke disapprovingly about his hairstyle. Boone, through an attorney, denied any racial discrimination.
An internal investigation by UAFS found no "substantial" evidence of discrimination, Chancellor Terisa Riley stated in a Sept. 11 email sent to the campus community. Riley also said there will not be any hair policy for UAFS athletes.
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Tyler Williams now attends Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma.
His parents, Reggie and Tiffini Williams, said they drove three hours from their home in Edmond, Okla., to take part in the event, held outside the UAFS Stubblefield Center. Marchers chanted, "I am not my hair," with some also shouting, "Fire Boone."
An organizer, LaSondra Avery, told those in attendance that a petition will call for disciplinary action against Boone, a 33-year coaching veteran hired by UAFS in April. People at the event called for fans not to attend men's basketball games but also for the community to support the women's team.
"We thank you so much; this is unbelievable. We can do so much when we join together," Reggie Williams told the crowd.
Tyler Williams, an honor roll student and the team's second-leading scorer last year, said Boone never ordered him to cut his hair, but that remarks caused him to feel "devalued and disrespected." Williams stated, in a letter, that "Boone's action of policing black hair is a form of pervasive racism and bias."
The complaint by Williams and his family included audio of a meeting with Boone.
In a statement released by the university to news outlets, Boone has said: "Dr. Riley has made clear there will be no hair policy on my team or any other at UAFS, and I fully support that decision. In hindsight, after listening to the audio recording, I'm sorry that I responded reactively during the meeting on August 16, 2019. That was out of character for me, and I regret that I allowed both parties' emotions to escalate."
After the event, Reggie and Tiffini Williams disputed statements about their son by an attorney for Boone, Tom Mars, who had suggested that Tyler Williams wanted to leave UAFS and transfer to play at a different school.
"He didn't want to leave," Tiffini Williams said. She said her son is doing well at his new school, where he is on a basketball scholarship.
"All of this could have been solved if Coach Boone had just said: 'Tyler, I'm sorry. I'm sorry the comments that I made were racial,'" Reggie Williams said. He said he was aware of Boone's statement, but that the family wants a personal apology.
Tiffini Williams said the UAFS letter informing them of the investigation result "basically said it was a misunderstanding," and that Boone "was referring to the length of his hair and not the style."
But she disputed that description of Boone's comments.
"Nothing ever was mentioned about the length of his hair," she said.
Metro on 09/25/2019