Senior volleyballer Laurun Hall said she is out of the sport at Grambling State University after disagreeing with a mandatory vaccination program.
All students at Grambling have to be vaccinated by Nov. 22.
Hall’s personal stance on vaccination has limited her efforts in participating in the sport of volleyball.
“I am not a true believer of vaccination,” Hall said.
Hall said she was unable to go forward due to the vaccination requirements that were necessary to continue her athletic aspirations as a member of the Grambling State University team.
The decision to quit was not an easy one as it meant the end of pursuing her volleyball dream. For her it is the end of a long road and playing a sport she loved.
The veteran player said complied with other mandates set out by the program.
“I did agree with the requirements of the volleyball season this year,” Hall said.
Trying out in her freshman year in 2019 for the GSU volleyball team and making the team was difficult.
“That was one of the hardest parts of being a volleyball player,” Hall said. “As I left for Grambling my goal wasn’t to play for their volleyball team, it was just to go to a HBCU and have fun. I only tried out because my mother convinced me and I watched them practice and play games. So as I watched them play games and practice I felt I could play at this level of volleyball.”
Hall – who came from a small school in Hammond, Ind.. – knew she was going to have to work harder than she ever did to stay on the team.
She did not see volleyball players make it out in her sport to a school to play.
Freshman year was just the beginning and she knew her playing time was going to be limited.
“In the back of my head I didn’t feel fully ready to be a D1 athlete,” Hall said. “The only reason I felt like I wasn’t ready was because where I’m from going D1 is huge. Only a selected few young adults from my home town went D1. The kids who went D1 were baseball or basketball players.”
After she walked on to the Grambling State University volleyball team she felt the pressure.
She was putting the history of her high school on her shoulders and when she made the team and she said it felt so good that she was a Division I athlete from Hammond High school.
“I felt like that was one of the best titles to have,” she said.
As her sophomore year came around Hall said she was on the team but seeing limited playing time. So when the vaccination requirement popped up it was clear she would not continue.,
After her junior season when Covid-19 had hit schools and sports hard, Hall was not sure if she was returning to the sport in the fall for her personal reasons.
Once her senior year started there was thought about coming back but COVID was still here and her playing time was likely to be limited.
She had talks with some of her loved ones about her leaving the team and telling them the reasons why.
“So I came to the final decision to not return to the team,” Hall said.
Laurun Hall