Spurs' Lonnie Walker IV used hairstyles as 'cloaking device' to battle childhood sexual abuse

Lonnie Walker IV of the San Antonio Spurs owned arguably the best head of hair in the NBA until he recently cut the locks. 

Now, he's revealing the importance behind the various dos he's had since childhood. 

In an Instagram post, Walker wrote in the caption he was "sexually harassed, raped (and) abused" by a family member "during the summer of my 5th grade year.

"I even got accustomed to (abuse) 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," he wrote. "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."

Hairstyles became a "cloaking device" for Walker, now 21 and in his second season with San Antonio. 

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The Instagram post is a video narrated by Walker that traces the history of his hair with images, starting with a mohawk in seventh grade, dying the mohawk red in eighth grade, and a flattop in ninth grade. 

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Walker described the negative mental effect he faced due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also wrote that he has forgiven "everyone" and that he's done his best to move on from the past. 

"My hair was a mask of me hiding the insecurities that I felt the world wasn't ready for," he said. "But now, (I am) better than ever. Out with 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's agent, George Langberg, told ESPN in a statement on behalf of Walker "it is his hope that by opening up, it will help anyone who reads his story that may have been sexually abused in the past, or anyone who may be going through something similar now, to know they are not alone. 

"Lonnie appreciates the outpouring of support and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy at this time."