Grambling State’s storied football program football suffered its worst embarrassment ever Saturday when players, protesting their treatment and overall decaying state of the program refused to board the buses Friday afternoon for a road game at Jackson State, which was later declared a forfeit.
According to a report from the Shreveport Times, the players are upset about how the administration has handled football operations, forcing the team to take long bus rides rather than flying to locations such as Indianapolis and Kansas City from the school’s Louisiana campus. The report also cites complaints about missed meals on road trips, the sorry state of athletic facilities, an overall “disrespect” from the administration and anger over the early season firing of head coach and former Grambling star quarterback Doug Williams.
“It was basically a mutiny,” an unnamed player told the Times.
This has been a brutal season for these once fierce but now paper Tigers, who are 0-8 and headed for a winless season. The Tigers, who have lost 18 straight games to NCAA opponents, were coming off of a 48-0 loss to Alcorn State in the Circle City Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Oct 13 after making an exhausting 17-hour bus trip when tensions hit the breaking point during a contentious meeting with the administration last Tuesday.
School officials have been meeting all weekend to reach a resolution with the disgruntled players and avoid any more forfeits, school spokesman Will Sutton said. Among those meeting are university president Frank Pogue, athletic director Aaron James and Dennis “Dirt” Winston, the team’s third coach this season.
We think it’s time to shut down this program until the multitude of problems voiced by the players can be adequately addressed and corrected and funding can be rekindled. Given the fact the school’s budget was slashed by 57 percent in state funding, the athletic department took a $335,000 hit and the football budget was cut by $75,000 to $2 million, it is not be viable to have a football team making exhausting, long distance road trips to participate in historic black college showcase games in NFL Stadiums if you do not have enough money for the traveling squad to fly and are contractually obligated to take the band, cheerleaders and dance team along. Those endless bus trips, along with worn out players, are a recipe for disaster.
While the players suffered, the university’s president and athletic director reportedly traveled by plane.
Attempts by former Grambling players and alums to donate to this woefully under funded program have been stifled in the past, funneled instead to a general fund as the university tries to keep its head above water.
The current players complained of mold and mildew on equipment and in facilities in a letter to the administration obtained by ESPN.
The players’ letter says the athletic complex “is in horrible condition, and has many hazards 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.”
The players say that the floor is coming up in the weight room and the letter also asks that the university supply better detergent for uniforms.
“The uniforms are poorly cleaned and contribute to the multiple cases (of) staph infection,” the letter reads. “Several players have been infected with staph multiple times.”
This isn’t any way to treat student-athletes.
Grambling spokesman Will Sutton said that local health department inspectors, acting on an anonymous tip, recently visited Grambling athletic facilities and recommended changes to improve conditions, but did not deem those facilities a health hazard. Sutton added that buildings throughout campus, including the library, have similar problems because of neglect, and that the conditions football players have complained of are symptomatic of problems campus-wide stemming from substantial budget cuts. “If people want to get this fixed, there are two things they can do: Make a donation to the Grambling Foundation and the other is lobby legislators to fund Grambling at the level it should be funded,” Sutton told ESPN.
The neglect cries out for state help. Does anything think LSU– the state’s SEC representative– operates under the same health standards
According to the letter, players have been complaining for some time that Gatorade and the supplement Muscle Milk were not supplied during summer camp or workouts. “We had to pay for those expensive items ourselves,” the letter states. “We were also forced to get water from hoses underneath the stadium in 90 degree plus weather.”
Finally, the letter addresses the firing of Williams in September. “The football team was not addressed and received no sign of compassion from administration until over a month later,” the letter says, adding that “the administration fired the head coach without plans of placing a competent coach in as interim.”
The letter states that the players did not support interim coach George Ragsdale, who has since been relieved of those duties, saying he “contributed to five of the seven (losses) of the season.”
The late, great Hall of Fame coach Eddie Robinson, who built this program, would be sick over what it has become.
