Advertisement

Former Texas State PG calls out coach Danny Kaspar over alleged racist incidents, remarks

In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the mass protests that have followed across the country, a former Texas State basketball player dropped serious allegations against coach Danny Kaspar.

Former point guard Jaylen Shead, in a lengthy note he posted on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, accused Kaspar of consistently making racist and abusive statements to both him and his teammates at Texas State — which he said largely led him to transfer out of the program for his final season of eligibility.

“For me, the experience was shocking,” Shead wrote, in part. “I could overlook the way coach Kaspar treated players in most regards. I could overlook the lies he fed us to get us there and to keep us there. I could overlook the way he disregarded the rules and our health. But I could not turn away from the many racially insensitive things that were said to me and other teammates.

“I had never seen someone abuse their power in such a way before, especially someone who claimed he, ‘cared about us.’ These things happened so much on a daily [basis], we became numb as it was normal.”

Shead detailed several incidents in his post.

Once during a close-out drill, Shead claims that Kaspar told the team that “if a brown man with a turbin and AK-47 walked in, I bet y’all would run as fast as you could.”

Kaspar, per Shead, once allegedly told a player who was from Europe that “a lot of the boosters [and] alumni here at [Texas State] are [President Donald] Trump supporters. You keep messing up, I’ll have you deported.”

Shead also said that Kespar once heard them use the N-word in a hallway. Kespar then allegedly walked up to them and said, “If y’all say the N-word that means I can say it.” He also alleges that Kespar said “he’s running like the cops are behind him” when watching Shead run suicides during practice.

Shead even claimed that in their team handbook, Kespar prohibited “certain items that only the black players wore such as durags and earrings,” and said that his tattoos were “tacky.”

Shead started his collegiate career at Cal Poly, but transferred to Texas State after two seasons. He stayed there for two seasons, one of which he had to sit per transfer rules, before transferring to Washington State for his final year. Shead averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 assists while starting every game and averaging more than 28 minutes in his one season playing at Texas State.

Kaspar has been at Texas State since 2013, following a 13-year stint at Stephen F. Austin. The 65-year-old has compiled a 119-109 overall record in his seven years there, and led the team to a 21-11 finish last season.

Shead wrote on Twitter that he had “many man-to-man” talks with Kaspar about the incidents, but that he was “wrote off as an uncoachable player.”

“I chose to leave because I knew I’d eventually say something and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to play anywhere or get a coaching job as I want to one day,” Shead wrote, in part. “But I am doing a disservice to those that come after. I watched as many people ignored or toned out his ways, but no more.”

Jaylen Shead shared several incidents in which he said his former coach made disturbing, racist remarks to him and his teammates at Texas State.
Jaylen Shead shared several incidents in which he said his former coach made disturbing, racist remarks to him and his teammates at Texas State. (William Mancebo/Getty Images)

More from Yahoo Sports: