Grambling Mutiny

[Rogue]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/grambling-state-players-don-t-board-buses-travel-212223942--ncaaf.html


Grambling players didn't board the buses to go to Jackson State Friday afternoon. Grambling was originally scheduled to leave at 2:30 p.m. CT but no players showed up. The school said the departure time had been pushed back to 3:30 p.m., but after that deadline, there were still no players in sight. At 3:50 p.m., the buses left the lot empty.

An unidentified Grambling player had told ESPN Friday afternoon that the players had decided not to play.

At a Friday afternoon news conference, athletic director Aaron James and university president Frank Pogue said that they were expecting to play the game. However, that was before the scheduled departure times.

"We're going to Jackson and we're going to play Jackson State for their homecoming," Pogue said.

The players are unhappy with Pogue, the university's facilities, transportation and the dismissal of coach Doug Williams, a Grambling alum and former Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Washington Redskins.

[Soonerwake]

I understand frustration as a player, but you accepted a scholarship to play football. Heck, when i was in high school we met with the AD and principal about our crappy excuse for a coach.

IMO, these players should have their scholarships revoked.. Just go play.. If you don't like the way things are going, don't come back next year.

[Widescreen]

Disagree. Accepting a scholarship is no excuse for being treated like garbage.

[Soonerwake]

I stand corrected. After reading a couple of articles about the condition of the facilities and equipment, the 17 hour bus rides while the president and AD flew, and the mold and mildew on pads and uniforms, I can see why a stand like this was necessary.

I guess I should do a little research before posting next time..

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Yeah, after reading the story, i hope they shut the place down...

[DrZaius]

Yep, but Ronald Reagan would be proud of that post...


I stand corrected. After reading a couple of articles about the condition of the facilities and equipment, the 17 hour bus rides while the president and AD flew, and the mold and mildew on pads and uniforms, I can see why a stand like this was necessary.

I guess I should do a little research before posting next time..

[5noubus]

After reading about the schools problem it sounds like it is stemming from slack of financial support .
And/ or poor finance handling.
I'm totally against the cupcake game scheduling but can see how that kind of payday could really benefit a program like this.

[ashley]

The players are asking the administration to deliver things they have no way of doing. Grambling has no money.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Like laundry soap? A mop?

[Widescreen]

Seriously, if the choice is between running a program that can't even clean the uniforms and pads and shutting down the program, shut down the program.

[SicEmBaylor]

They're an uppity bunch. They need to get in the back of the bus and be glad they have a full ride scholarship.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Wow. That's bold.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

The Players have been threatened with loss of scholarships... Big wooptity doo...

If I was a captain, then I would say okay, we'll play, suit out and take the field. I would then fumble every offensive snap and fall down on every defensive play... They are still playing and fielding a game day team...

[SicEmBaylor]

I wouldn't hesitate for one single moment to pull every single scholarship and send their asses packing. Give their scholarships to some walkons who want to play and be there.

They're in college getting an education for free. In exchange, they made an agreement to play football for that school. The school doesn't owe them jack ****. Send their asses home and let 'em find some work with the migrant workers or shirmp boating.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Sooo, you saying the school deserves to give them staph and fungal infections?

EDIT: Like someone said before, they can't field a program without money and I don't think they have money...They should shut the program down until they have money.

[Widescreen]

Sooo, you saying the school deserves to give them staph and fungal infections?

Of course. No player should expect healthy living and playing conditions. They got a scholarship. If the school asks them to chop their leg off, they should since they got that scholarship and everything.

[SicEmBaylor]

Sooo, you saying the school deserves to give them staph and fungal infections?

EDIT: Like someone said before, they can't field a program without money and I don't think they have money...They should shut the program down until they have money.

Are they not capable of cleaning that **** themselves? Laziness isn't an excuse. If confronted with having to wear bacteria infested pads because they school won't clean them or cleaning them myself then I'd go with the cleaning them myself option.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

The only pad you've ever worn is in your panties, Sic'em.

*duck*

[Soonerwake]

The only pad you've ever worn is in your panties, Sic'em.

*duck*

No kidding.. Ignorance at its finest...

[8timechamps]

I don't buy the "we don't have the money" excuse. Grambling is probably the most prominent of the HBCUs, and probably does better than most of the others. Now, if someone has mismanaged the finances, and they don't have the funding, then that's a different story. But, that's not on the kids.

At the very least, the athletes should be able to have a healthy environment to play/practice.

And SicEm, you can't simply "wash" out the Staph virus and the like. They make equipment to take care of that, and I would bet that 95%+ of athletic departments have that equipment. It's not expensive (by program standards).

I applaud these guys for standing up as a team, and taking action.

[SicEmBaylor]

The only pad you've ever worn is in your panties, Sic'em.

*duck*

I've never actually had to do my own cleaning/laundering either. ;)

[badger]

Anyone else reminded of the movie Major League? No money, no admin/owner support, crappy team with minimal equipment?

I know that Title IX et al forces programs to use football revenue to support non-revenue sports, but when the Gramblings of the world accept $1 million checks from D-1 programs like ours (we had to have given Florida A&M at least that much last season, as well as Tulsa this year, etc) for a beatdown, you better put in the resources to field a team in order to collect that check.

I wonder how much they had to pay Jackson State when they couldn't put a team on the field. Whatever that was, they should have immediately ponied up that money to make player-demanded improvements.

At this stage though... yeah, shut football down. Try to finish the season if you can so you don't need to pay anymore no-game fees, then shut it down.

[ashley]

The more I learn the more I support the players. I admit it took me a while.

[Scott D]

I notice no mention of how much of a joke Williams' firing was. God forbid if the "proper channels" can't raise money for the program that the coach uses his connections and stature to try to do fund raising on his own.

[Widescreen]

The Grambling administration sounds completely corrupt.

[badger]

I notice no mention of how much of a joke Williams' firing was. God forbid if the "proper channels" can't raise money for the program that the coach uses his connections and stature to try to do fund raising on his own.

I read somewhere that the admin made it even more difficult on targeting problem areas. For example, if a Grambling fan saw the moldy shoulder pads and said "I'd like to contribute $100 to replace those!," the admin would step in and say "You can donate $100 to Grambling, but it will be placed in a general fund for both academics and athletics, not just a pair of shoulder pads."

So, even if boosters wanted to upgrade equipment, laundry and facilities, they wouldn't have been able to without working through Grambling red tape. The end result of the clustereff is the player mutiny and having an interim-interim coach after the head coach and his interim both got fired :(

[Widescreen]

I read somewhere that the admin made it even more difficult on targeting problem areas. For example, if a Grambling fan saw the moldy shoulder pads and said "I'd like to contribute $100 to replace those!," the admin would step in and say "You can donate $100 to Grambling, but it will be placed in a general fund for both academics and athletics, not just a pair of shoulder pads."

So, even if boosters wanted to upgrade equipment, laundry and facilities, they wouldn't have been able to without working through Grambling red tape. The end result of the clustereff is the player mutiny and having an interim-interim coach after the head coach and his interim both got fired :(

People are supposed to be able to donate to whatever restricted purpose they want. That issue kind of backs up my early point about the corrupt administration.

[Tulsa_Fireman]

People are supposed to be able to donate to whatever restricted purpose they want. That issue kind of backs up my early point about the corrupt administration.

Sure makes you wonder, doesn't it.

No sir, you must donate to this general fund for the University that has hidden, direct channels to my offshore account in the Caymans.

Sadly, it's what makes the most sense.

[8timechamps]

Looks like the team has ended their boycott.

Here's the original letter of grievance the team sent to the school admin:


Dear Grambling State University Administration,
We, the Grambling State University Football team, come to you with the intent to make a complaint against Grambling State University Administration, and to reach some type of solution. We would like support and assistance while reaching this solution. As a team our goal is to build a solid foundation through team work, and to make progress during our time here at Grambling State University. Unfortunately, there are certain factors that are hindering us from reaching our goals. We have concerns with facilities, equipment, travel arraignments, summer camp arraignments, alumni association and friends of football funding, and our head coach.
The athletic complex is a place where we as a team prepare for competition. In our opinion, the complex is in horrible condition, and has manyhazards that may contribute to our overall health. First, the complex is filled with mildew and mold. Mildew and mold can be seen on the ceiling, walls and floor, and are contributing to water leaks because of faltering walls and ceilings. Grambling student-athletes are not the only ones complaining about this particular hazard. When Lamar University came to play our team they refused to go in the locker room for half time due to mold and mildew.
Second, the weight room and care of game and practice gear are in bad condition, in areas where the floor is coming up, it causes players to trip while lifting large amounts of weight. Equipment in the weight room is falling apart, as well as workout benches are tearing and ripping apart. We as student-athletes would also like better detergent for our uniforms and practice uniforms. The uniforms are poorly cleaned and contribute to the multiple cases of staph infection. Several players have been infected with staph multiple times.
Student-athletes have been complaining since summer 2013 about the way summer camp and work outs were set up. We did not receive Gatorade or Muscle Milk. We had to pay for those expensive items ourselves. We were also forced to get water from hoses underneath the stadium in 90 degree plus weather. Student-athletes often complained of the high grass we had to practice in. The grass was up to our knees and was rarely cut. This was a huge inconvenience to the team. Shortly after that we found out that we would not be housed for camp. Players that live off campus were responsible for commuting back and forth to campus three times a day, not to mention, we were already paying for summer school out of pocket.
During summer 2013 we were told we would be taking two major trips this season, Kansas City, Missouri and the other to Indianapolis, Indiana. We were pretty excited but found out later we would be taking a bus. Both trips, we traveled excessive hours. One trip was 14 hours while the other was 17. Players were drained and exhausted after those long rides. Long rides take a toll on athlete’s bodies both mentally and physically. However both the president and athletic director traveled by plane. In our opinion, any trip over 8 hours should be taken by plane. We also found out that we would not travel to a hotel and stay overnight for home games. It is tradition for us to travel for home games but that tradition was broken also.
The next complaint is about money donated from friends of football and the alumni association. Money from both organizations is being rejected. The funds donated can help take care of some of our expenses. The funding can supply Muscle Milk, Gatorade, help house us or even get the complex cleaned and updated. All things that are much needed. The funds are rejected by the university, because the organizations that donate the money want to put their money toward a specific cause, not the university or athletics as a whole.
The last issue we would like to address is the firing of our head coach, Doug Williams. Doug Williams was fired September 9, 2013; the football team was not addressed and received no sign of compassion from administration until over a month later, on October 15, 2013 which was the first meeting with our President and Athletic Director. The administration fired the head coach without plans of placing a competent coach in as interim. Coach George Ragsdale has contributed to five of the seven loses of the season. We are not in favor of him as interim and would much rather coach Dirt Winston, Vyron Brown, or C.C Culpepper for the remainder of the season.
As a team, support from the administration has not been observed. It is our effort as a whole to receive more visible support and solid leadership from the administration by addressing the above mentioned complaints. We as a team have been criticize enough by outsiders. We need our university’s support. As the voice of the student body we need the SGA to intercede on our behalf. The support and assistance of the association would be greatly appreciated. We can be reached by our spokesperson Naquan Smith.
Thanks
Grambling State Tigers.