TOLEDO, Ohio — Despite most of the attention going toward the Oscars altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock, one Toledo-area advocate is saying the story goes much deeper.
McKenna Reitz is a teacher and volleyball coach at Springfield High School. She's also an advocate for people with alopecia.
She says the joke Rock made at the expense of Jada Pinkett Smith was extremely hurtful, especially when it's about a condition that can't be controlled.
Alopecia is an auto-immune disease that can result in partial or total hair loss.
Reitz says the social stigma toward the condition can have severe psychological and physical effects on those suffering.
"It is so much more than hair loss" she said. "Because of that, we identify. And when our hair is gone, I know I felt that my identity was ripped away from me. Thankfully what I've learned is that my identity was unveiled for me."
Research for alopecia treatment is still ongoing, but the condition effects over 6 million Americans.
WTOL 11 will be sponsoring the second annual Alopecia Strong golf outing on June 6 to help fundraise for medical research.