Ottawa coach resigns after backlash over Black Kansas cheerleader kicked off squad

Ottawa University’s head cheer coach has resigned after she was accused of making a racist rant about a Black cheerleader’s hair.

The coach, Casey Jamerson, said in a statement that continuing to coach would likely be “a distraction” for the team, staff and community, according to a news release the university issued Saturday.

The resignation stems from a Jan. 6 incident at the university, which is about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City.

Talyn Jefferson, 20, previously told The Star she refused to remove a hair bonnet during cheerleading practice because she worried her 30-inch long braids could hit a teammate in the face. A junior from Lawrence, she said she was kicked out of practice and off the squad.

A friend of Jefferson posted on Twitter about what happened. Others on social media criticized the coach for what she said about Black people’s hairstyles.

In the tweet, Jefferson tells her friend that the coach told her, “You shouldn’t have gotten 7 foot long hair then! She proceeds to tell me that my box braids are a hindrance to my performance and they are not collegiate and I never should have gotten them in the first place.”

President of Ottawa University’s Kansas campus Reggies Wenyika and Athletic Director Arabie Conner “reluctantly accepted” the resignation. Wenyika said what played out this month has been “extremely unfortunate to say the least,” and that Jamerson’s resignation is “a loss to our community.”

Jamerson, who has denied the allegations, filed a police report on Jan. 22, saying she was being harassed by people making crude, abusive or threatening comments.

“By stepping away now, it is my sincerest desire that the OU cheer program, especially its student athletes, will continue to grow and flourish,” she said in a statement.

The university’s compliance office investigated what happened by reviewing statements from Jamerson and Jefferson, interviews with other students and staff who were there, and reviewing video footage. The investigation concluded that no university policy violations occurred, according to the news release.

Jefferson said she was kicked off the team for standing up for herself against microaggressive comments that made her and others uncomfortable.

“Instead of the university addressing the fact that the comments were out of line and made me uncomfortable and the coach should have apologized, their solution was to kick me off instead,” she previously told The Star.

Jefferson, who had been on the team for more than two years, said she never intended her story to end up on Twitter, but was glad it was made public.

Conner, the athletic director, said the university will begin searching for a new head coach immediately.

This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 12:44 PM.