Spurs guard Lonnie Walker IV cutting his signature hair this week was about much more than getting a fresh cut.
Walker said on Instagram Thursday that he started to grow his hair out when he was in middle school after being sexually abused as a child.
“The real truth as to why I started doing this early 5th grade, it was a cloaking device for me,” Walker wrote in the caption, accompanying a video of him describing his hairstyles over the years. “During the summer of my 5th grade year I was around more family. Some [whose] names will be left alone I was around more.
“I was sexually harassed, raped, 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 [me] confidence.”
Walker also spoke about the mental toll the coronavirus pandemic has had on him.
“As of recently, I wasn’t at my best,” he wrote. “Previous history popping up in my head and it sucked mentally. ‘Demons’… Because of this virus, I began to truly look at myself in the mirror and see who I truly was, even behind closed doors.
“Long story short I have found peace and internal happiness through this journey, god willingly. I forgave everyone, even the people that don’t deserve it. Why? Because it’s dead weight.
“Time doesn’t wait on anyone so why should I waste my time on it? Me cutting my hair was more than a cut. My hair was a mask of me hiding the insecurities that I felt the world wasn’t ready for. But now, [I am] better than ever. Out with [the] old. In with the new. I have shed my skin mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
“Life will always be hard. Gotta play with the cards you’re dealt with and try and make a winning hand. And if you lose. It’s never a loss. It’s a lesson.”
Walker finished his post by wishing peace, love and happiness to his followers.