Grambling State Football Players Boycott Wednesday Practice; Frustration of Winless Season Boils Over
ByGrambling State football is going through a tough season that just took another turn for the worse when the entire team did not show up for Wednesday's practice.
According to the Shreveport Times, the entire team met with school president Frank Pogue, athletic director Aaron James, interim head football coach George Ragsdale and student government president Jordan Harvey Tuesday to discuss why the team's method of transportation to their games in Kansas City and Indianapolis as well as the firing of their coach Doug Williams.
The players were reportedly unhappy that they would be taking a bus from the Grambling, Louisiana campus to those two locations instead of flying by plane. A source from the football program said players began to walk out of the meeting as its nature grew negative.
"[The administration] knew that emotions were raw," university spokesman Will Sutton said. "No matter what, it was going to be a challenge for the team to feel good after this season and last season."
Sutton said the meeting was meant to show the school's support for the team and confirmed "some" players walked out.
"That's part of the reason why we have a new [athletics director] and are looking for a new football coach," he said. "The president wanted to make a point that the university supports and appreciates the team and these students, and that the administration will do everything we need to do for the future success of the program."
One thing is for sure, no one showed up to practice Wednesday. The boycott was the result of building frustration that culminated during the meeting Tuesday and organized team functions Wednesday.
The team reportedly has been upset with the administration for a perceived lack of interest, with the poor quality of equipment, with taking buses to distant road games and not always having all meals covered away from home.
One player was reportedly kicked out of the weight training session Wednesday morning for voicing his opinions and frustrations. Afterwards, the rest of the team followed suit and not one player showed up to practice later that afternoon.
"It was basically a mutiny," the source said. "[The team] rode the bus all that way [to Indianapolis], and then come back and are disrespected like that [in Tuesday's meeting]."
"[The team] is standing together because they don't know if anybody else is standing with them."
All these frustrations are compounded by the team's winless record at 0-7 in the NCAA Division I-AA SWAC. They have allowed 276 points and only scored 93.