College Volleyball Coach Calls Referee Out for Singling Out Black Player Wearing Head Wrap

Jared Te’o, the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for St. Edwards University’s (SEU) women’s volleyball team, called out a referee for telling a Black player that she couldn’t participate in a match unless her head wrap was folded smaller.

Last week, SEU celebrated a momentous victory against Dallas Baptist University, but it wasn’t without an unfortunate chain of events. Te’o unveiled the situation on Twitter after recognizing his team’s feat on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

the lockerroom before the match started and adjusted it(to how she’s had it ALL season) and came back out, the ref saw, and she continued warming up. Cut to first serve where this player is set to serve, and match STARTING…and the refs told her she could not continue because she

— Jared Te'o (@CoachTeoVB) October 27, 2022

With passion, Te’o shared that one of his players, Esther Grussing, was singled out by a referee for donning a head wrap during the match. She was instructed to “fold [the head wrap] to make it look like a headband,” and so she “adjusted it.” But the modified head wrap wasn’t small enough, according to the referee, and she was allegedly told: “she could not continue.”

play. Seeing our athlete plead with me as I took her to the lockerroom about how it’s covering her hair for a reason and there has been no issue before…and seeing the way it impacted her made me angry and sad at the same time. I aggressively yelled(as an assistant) at the ref,

— Jared Te'o (@CoachTeoVB) October 27, 2022

The team was forced to take a timeout until a substitute was tapped in for Grussing. Later, the graduate student, pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration, collected herself and joined the team in taking home the win, despite the discomfort.

“The way our team called behind her was wonderful to see,” Te’o shared in the chain of tweets.

The assistant coach expressed his distaste for the “rules” of head wrap use, noting how they “disproportionately impact Black and brown athletes.” Traditionally, the head wraps belong to Black, indigenous, and people of color. Despite its benefits as a hair accessory, Te’o also pointed out that women’s head wraps have symbolic value in culture.

“A headband, head sweatband or bandanna worn as a sweatband is permitted; however, hats and other bandannas are not permitted,” according to the NCAA uniform rules. Despite the rules, Te’o challenged the referee to handle the situation better.

“I love you Esther and I love your fight queen,” Te’o encouraged.

out. ‘Headwrap’ rules in women’s sports, disproportionately impact black and brown athletes. It’s cultural, it doesn’t impact the play and if it was a MUST, handle it better. I will DIE on this hill. I love you Esther and I love your fight queen. 🖤🫶🏾

— Jared Te'o (@JaredT30) October 27, 2022