Bethune-Coookman rid itself of Ed Reed as its head football coach, but that move has caused a firestorm of activity in and around the school regarding conditions for students and student-athletes.
Dozens of students gathered on B-CU’s campus to protest living conditions at the school, and many have called for interim president Lawrence M. Drake II and members of the Board of Trustees to be ousted because of it. The biggest complaint has been that the dorms suffer from mold.
“We’re constantly pouring money into this institution, and we feel like it’s not being poured back into us,” a Senior at Bethune-Cookman told FOX 35. “We’re not seeing change. They just keep giving us false promises.”
Drake went on Roland Martin Unfiltered on Monday night, where he stated that the issue was mildew and not mold.
Tuesday Drake released a statement addressing both the students concerns as well as Ed Reed. There have been petitions from current football team members to re-instate Ed Reed, who was never under contract with the school. Drake says, there’s no chance of that happening.
“To close the chapter on Mr. Reed, he was a tremendous player,” Drake wrote in his statement. “Still, as we continued to observe him, we felt that his behavior was not aligned with the traditions of our founder Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and the university. We have over 50+ inquiries concerning our Head coaching position and are very excited about our candidate pool. Many of them possess not only knowledge of the game and the ability to assist in raising funds for the program. Still, they are disciplined leaders who have demonstrated their steadfast commitment to our Christian values. They also have the leadership skills to mold successful young men who are also student-athletes.”
In the meantime, Bethune-Cookman will be looking for a new head football coach. But clearly it has bigger issues on its hands as well.