FAMU announced yesterday that it would not renew the contracts of the men's and women's head track coaches, effectively firing them.Rey Robinson, the men's track coach, had served as coach since 2000-01, and Maicel Malone, has been the women's track coach since the Fall of 2005.
According to an athletic department release, "a nationwide search would begin immediately to fill the vacancies."
This year the FAMU men's team finished 8th in the MEAC outdoor championships, while the women finished 9th. Neither team faired any better in 2008 as the men & women's teams finished 9th and 11th respectfully at the MEAC track and field championships.It was the same dismal story when it came to the Rattler track teams performance at indoor meets.
I appreciate your services, coaches. FAMU lets get this right. The facilities too. We have talent right here in Florida who wouldn't look elsewhere first. Uh I hope the current AD isn't on the committee.
ReplyDeleteBill Hayes is a liar, an ignorant MF, and dumb butthole running our athletice program!
ReplyDeleteposted at 5/20/2009 9:39 AM EDT on tallahassee.com
hardbutt
First post: 3/20/2008
Last post: 5/20/2009
Total posts: 171 Dr. Ammons need to step up and get rid of this stupid butthole before he destroys the entire athletic program. This guy is worst than Castell Bryant and to say that Castell had more sense than this fool is putting this lightly. How the heck to you go and fire Ray Robinson for a less than a stellar performance from the very outset when you have shorthanded the man with no assistant coaches, half the scholarships, and half the time on the road Ray had to take money out of his pocket to feed our athletes while this nasty lying butt sit back and talk this great game! Our athletic program is in shambles and this butthole is firing everybody around him for not doing their job but yet he has not figure out that the problem is not the people at the bottom its his leadership or there lack of! He's the typical black college coach turned athletic Director who while coaching never hired anyone smart because he wanted only people of around him afraid or that had no knowledge so that he could keep control and never be challenge by an subordinate! I'm sick to my stomach that we continue to play this negro game of hiring less than qualified leadership but yet we want to be the best. We need to flood Dr. Ammons phone! I will not join the 1,000 strikes or booster until this MF is gone!
The manner of these coaches' terminations was so tactless. Malone didnt know she was fired until the Democrat asked for a comment! WTH is up with that?!? And coach Robinson was on the road with the team! Hayes told Robinson that his job was secure only to fire him a few days later! That's just deplorable and simply no way to conduct professional business. If the track coaches had been given the resources needed to field competitive teams like fixing the potholes in the track, money for recruitment, money for the full alotment of scholarships, money for equipment, etc, then maybe our track teams would post winning results! At least then you would be able to accurately assess the coaches' performance. If the teams still produced poor results after given the necessary resources to win by the athletic department, then FAMU could terminate the coaches with just cause.
ReplyDeletecorrection: coaches' performances.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 9:39AM. Bill Hayes is sabotaging the whole athletic program. But you can't blame Hayes , you must blame Ammons. Ammons gave him the green light to do anything he wants in the Athletic department. Like I stated before Ammons has fooled alot of people at FAMU. This man is a polish crook. He knows how to put people in place to do his dirty work. Ammons also know how to hide documents and change figures to make FAMU appear everything is going smooth, when it is not. If Hayes leaves , Ammons will leave.They both have something on each another from working at north carolin central. Please be aware! It's about to get ugly.Ammons is a moron.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Hardbutt & poster 10:56 AM. After learning that Coach Rey Robinson was terminated, I became sick to my stomach. My son ran track for Coach Robinson and I can tell you that the team’s performance has absolutely NOTHING to do with Coach Robinson’s coaching ability. Every year, the track team has to cut its Christmas Vacation short because of a January indoor track meet. A couple of years ago, my son returned to FAMU from Christmas vacation to prepare for The Ed Temple Indoor Meet at TSU. The day before departing, Coach Robinson was notified by the AD that there were no travel funds. Needless to say Coach Robinson & the athletes were extremely disappointed. Enter Bill Hayes. Bill Hayes is probably the worst AD in the history of FAMU Athletics. He may have been a great fit for NCCU, but he has all but destroyed FAMU Athletics. He doesn’t motivate, he DICTATES. The track facility is deplorable. Many of our track athletes are injured in practice or meets ON OUR TRACK because of the poor surface. High school & college teams have decided to bypass the FAMU Relays because of the risk of injury to their athletes, the absence of a race clock, inhumane bathroom facilities, substandard PA system, etc. By the time Bill Hayes DECIDES to release funds to Coach Robinson to offer a scholarship to a top athlete, the athlete has become impatient with FAMU & signed with another college. Under Bill Hayes, Coach Robinson has been expected to run through fire in gasoline drawers and not get burned. He was never provided the resources (funding, asst. coaches, facilities, etc.) to be successful.
ReplyDelete2008 Olympic & former FSU sprinter, Walter Dix had already recognized that Coach Robinson is an outstanding track coach and hired him to be his personal sprint coach.
Terminating Rey Robinson was the wrong decision. Bill Hayes must go and as long as he’s FAMU’s AD, I will not donate another dime to the Boosters. However, I will purchase my regular 2 season football tickets.
Bill Hayes Must Go!! Now!!!!
Slandering Dr. Ammons is going a bit too far. Ammons is not a crook, but the hiring of Bill Hayes was very questionable. For the most part, Dr. Ammons has done a great job.
ReplyDeleteyou cut the man's hand off, then you fire him for not winning the arm wrestling match...
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not as in tuned into the track and field events as I am with Football and Basketball; what I do know (and I think that we can all agree on this) is that the Rattler Track Team nor the Rattler Relays has been what they use to be for awhile. Now, we can bash Hayes for the way he fired our coaches, and we can even bash him for firing them altogether, but my question is simply this, at what point do we hold the coaches accountable for the product that they put on the field. Two to Three years ago everyone on this board was screaming for Coach Carter's head (was it because he was not a home grown rattler), while some argued to give the man a chance to develop his talent (which Coach Taylor enjoyed last year and will surely see those dividends this year and next year), nevertheless he was let go going into his 3rd recruiting season 4th game season. In the end he was fired for the lack of production on the field, wins and losses. Although I respect our track coaches for operating in the conditions that they were in (poor facilities, loss of scholarships, etc {and we can’t blame any of that on Hayes because he has only been on ship for 1 year and 5 months}), I also feel for them especially during this economic down turn, the decision of an administrator is to make the best choices for their particular programs, at the end of the day Hayes with the support of our president felt that was to go in a different direction in track and field.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, if we want our programs, academic and athletic to return to glory, we as alumnus are going to have to get off of the sideline and give time and money to our institution. Everyday, there is a new article (most recent on cnn.com) that argues for the closing of HBCU(s); if we continue to sit back and play Monday morning quarterback, in a few years we will not having anything to complain about because all of our beloved institutions will be "Dead and Gone, Dead and Gone." Then who will he have to blame, no one but ourselves!
10:56
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Myself and other Classes of the 90's no longer (let me repeat NO LONGER) financially support the university and won't unless management changes their nepotist hiring practices. It is never ok to put unqualified personnel in leadership roles if they're not ready. IF you want to do this - then TRAIN them first!
Ammons is responsible - if he can give unqualified Holmes (down at DRS) all the resources he needs to imporve the school the same can be done in areas where personnel are not family members of board of trustees or relative of other senior administrators.
I feel that Ray shouldn't have been fired. He has limit resources, how can you win and you don;t have money for reruitment and top facilities. I feel Bill Hayes need to go he has been a Cancer to our Athletic Department. He is getting rid of good people who worked hard with limit resources. Coach Ray was a good coach. Debra Clark wasn't a bad Coach. And our Director Of Football and Equipment Operations Travis Blue was good. Hayes needs to go today. Bc his ass is killing our department. He has to go lets call Dr. Ammons phone off the hook this week an next week.
ReplyDeleteYall just dont know! you all who speak probably really dont work in the athletic department.
ReplyDeleteHayes is doing a great job in re-building the athletic deparment to it glory - no matter who's in the AD spot you all are going to knock their chances of ever making the Athletic department what ever it can be!!! you all really dont know "Rey" and his mess.
If you guys love him so much why didnt you all send so much money you wouldnt have room to store it to rebuild and supply him with what ever it was - stop letting "Rey" blow you all up to rally for him and IN REY'S EIGHT YEAR ERA HOW MANY OF HIS STUDENT-ATHLETES GRADUATED OR STAYED LONG ENOUGH TO PUT UP WITH HIS #$#$%^^!!! He was doing good BACK IN THE DAY - his time is up...
"Rey" stop talking about the famu athletic department you so call love you wouldnt be telling everyone the inside twisted BS.
Debra Clark - dont bring her up, she had her spin and her time was up "time for Change"
travis Blue "that's a joke" he's just mad that his extra money stopped with all that equipment and apparel he was selling and giving away at the expense of famu athletics - i know yall gonna miss that...
GOOD JOB HAYES!!! KEEP SMOKING THEM OUT AND R-ESTRUCTURE OUR ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT. Bring the Venom Back!!!
What you all are talking about either Rey Wrote them or he told yall about this - see what's to come and support the program with $ and fill the stands when they perform support the athletes and send your money to the track foundation or any sport foundation to help the program grow.... and stop all this noise....
I AM A FAITHFUL ALUM AND $ DONOR... SO I CAN!!! SPEAK.
as a famu athlete i experience first hand the mess that not coach rey or coach malone has put us through but what FAMU our beloved institute has NOT done....you all know too well what the track looks like, the lack of scholarship allocations, the 4indoor track meets we went to, the numerous canceled meets because of bus trouble, hell we didnt even get shoes this season but no one wants to donate dont try to hide behind anonymous quotes on blogs just make your donations come to famu relays and support your alleged beloved alma mater....then and only then will i have enough respect for my alumni...Bill hayes is not the issue nothing from nothing leaves nothing in case my degreed borthers and sisters didnt kno.
ReplyDelete11:40 PM
ReplyDeleteIf you are an athlete your coach awards scholarships and this shouldn't have been discussed with you. So that would be your coach to blame and he talked to you about his allotment
and what the track look like okay well your COACHes should have set up time for you to practice at other facilities even if it meant going over to FSU like the Swim team went to practice because the pool wasnt open.
again Coach Rey and Coach Malone shouldnt have been discussing this with you all instead they should have use this as a marketing tool to raise money for their sport -
again the COACH!!! gave you what he wanted to give you and thats!! not the fault of the institution or the athletic department...
BAD BUSINESS REY - YOU GOT THE ATHLETES WHINING TOO...you got to stop this makes you look bad.
so what you are saying the teams that beat you all in the FAMU Relays ran on that bad track and they beat you because they noticed the track was messed up or did coach rey may an announcement okay so when you loose you make excuses and are you going to break the trend of the track athletes not graduating....
this is still about coach rey and did he budget for that? come on this isnt a discussion you have with an athlete.
check yourself and if you are still a runner you all need to rally around each other and push for whatever gold medal and goals you are trying to achieve while you are here.
Trust in GOD! not man let GOD guild your path... dont vomit what CoaCh Rey has told you - he has told this to everyone - it still didnt make people give and when they did give YOU HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY ON WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND IT ON
again young athlete dont be confused - leave it alone.... and run for the Gold and reach for your Goal.
I agree with post 11:08 pm
schedules and scholarships are given by the coaches. when you make out the schedule you create a draft budget so you are right 12:05 AM
ReplyDeletethe athlete shouldnt be discussing this the coach gave this and probably all of the athletes the wrong insight to place blame on someone other than himself....
although coach rey is gone dont carry the bone.. let it go away and do your best.
5/20/2009 11:40 PM
ReplyDeleteYou need to get off the track and get into someone's classroom.
Respond to 11:08: a faithful alum and donor. From what I read it's obvious you don't have a clue about what's going on with the athletic program.Probaly the only time you donate money, is doing football season.You seem either dumb or stupid. It's people like you that make FAMU look bad.Investigate before you start running your mouth.Look up the word scholarship and funding.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all you dont know what the Fuck you are talking about in Athletics. Those comments are false about Ray Travis and Debra. I work in the department now they did an outstanding job. You need to stay your ass in classroom. You keep kisssing Bill Hayes ass, we are going to send your ass with him packing when he goes to Winston Salem State June 30. And leave the damn track athletes alone. They love and respect there Coach he was done wrong. Point blank ass-hole. Stay out of Athletics bc you don't know what the fuck you are talking about. Go Famu, Ammons get Hayes ass out asap.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 11:47 AM. Hayes is going to Winston Salem State University,AMMONS will probaly leave soon after.The alumni must blame Ammons foe this stupid move for bringing HAyes here.I still belive both of them are crooks.
ReplyDelete12:04pm
ReplyDeleteHayes may be leaving, but Dr. Ammons isnt going anywhere! I've also heard that Hayes will be out come June 30. He's already been relieved of financial authority in the athletic department. I hope Dr. Ammons and his team already have a better replacement in mind. No HBCU retreads, or former football coaches PLEASE! The new AD doesnt even have to have an HBCU background as far as I'm concerned.
FROM 12:04 TO 12:13 THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION.I ALSO HEARD HAYES WAS LEAVING FROM THE ALUMNI IN WINSTON SALEM.THEY SAID HE IS USING HIS SALARY FROM FAMU TO FINISH HIS NEW HOUSE IN WINSTON WHICH WAS JUST COMPLETED.
ReplyDeleteThanks 11:47 and 12:04 and 12:13. I respect Ray and Travis. They are Famu Alumni, they are both good people. They were just both done wrong. As Famu Alumni we must stand up for them. Remember the oath we took when we Graduate, If President Humphries was here. Ray and Travis would still be here. Bill Hayes is NC A&T NOT FAMU. We must go to Dr. Ammons and express our concerns with the athletic department. The athletes are first. Bill Hayes will be gone June 30, it is true that he is working on his house in Winston Salem. It sad he is using Famu to pay for his home repairs. Ammons need to see the light Hayes isn't for Famu. He is about destroying our Athletic department. He hired his son-in-law at 95,000.00. He only has a High School dipolma. That not fair to the people in the department who has degrees. We must fight to restore our department. We must get an AD IN HERE THAT FOR FAMU. Bill Hayes is an ass hole he fired his best friend Huff, that tell you about him. He hired a white man in his place that don't know shit. He is an cancer to. ALL i want is the athletes employees treat fair. Bc if we do they will give back. Until we do this they will never give back. Go Rattlers.
ReplyDeleteThanks 12:43 for that editorial, from 12:04.I hope we are right about what was told to us by the people at Winston Salem. Hayes last days are numbered,June 30.I still say we need to question Ammons on his choices regarding athletics.He must don't give a damn.With his sickness, maybe his time is probaly up also.
ReplyDeleteThe athletic department is nothing like it use to be. There use to be so much support from alumni, friends, and others until Bill Hayes arrived. Does anyone realize that Bill Hayes has fired eleven people since he has been AD at FAMU. WOW!!!! Is he trying to break some type of record. Not only have people been terminated but people are leaving and want to leave. This is sad. Something needs to be done really soon, if not, we will lose high quality athletes, supporting alumni and friends.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100 percent. Something has to be done in Athletic department. We are losing alot of good people because of Bill Hayes. He is out to destroy. I have heard that he treats the Coaches an support staff bad. Many left bc of that. Dr. Ammons has to get Hayes out of there. Before he does more damage. Dr. Ammons you need to get Hayes ass out of there before he fires the whole department. Don't you see he is out to destroy Famu Athletic Department. He is NC A&T Alumni, not Famu. They hate Famu with a passion. Hayes must have some dirt on Dr. Ammons. Rattlers let pray for out department before Hayes destroy it to the ground.
ReplyDelete