SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs guard Lonnie Walker revealed in an Instagram post on Thursday the real reason why he started growing his hair in the 5th grade.
Spurs’ Lonnie Walker IV cuts off signature ‘pineapple hair’
Walker states in the post that his hair was his cloaking device and that during the summer of his 5th-grade year he was around more family.
“I was sexually harassed, raped, abused, I even got accustomed to it because being at that age you don’t know what is what,” Walker posted. “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 my confidence.”
He goes on to talk about how because of the coronavirus he began to “truly look at myself in the mirror and see who I truly was.”
The long post also reveals how he feels now and how he “shed my skin mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually" and that he will be off Instagram for a while as he is still growing through this.
Mayor Ron Nireberg and others have reacted to Walker’s post on social media. Nirenberg posted on Twitter about how there is so much to admire about Lonnie Walker and proud he is a San Antonian.
There is so much to admire about the @spurs @lonniewalker_4. Courageous leadership is number one. Proud he is a San Antonian. #gsg
— Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@Ron_Nirenberg) June 12, 2020
The second year former first round pick cut off his signature hair Wednesday night during an Instagram live on his official account.
He decided to cut off nearly all of it and shared photos on social media of his new look.