 |
| Shamoria Johnson |
Shamoria Johnson, a FAMU senior, who up until December was a standout member on the Rattler Bowling team was unceremoniously dismissed from the team by first-year head coach Capri Howard.
Johnson a Bright Futures Scholar, majoring English, at FAMU informed the coach that she would miss a December 4, practice in to write two papers for her finals. In past years, the team typically did not have practices after Thanksgiving break.
Coach Howard, a 2021 graduate of Jackson State University, who is currently completing her masters at Valparaiso University in Indiana, responded to Johnson via a group email reminding her (and the team) that practices are mandatory and advising them to properly manage their time between school and bowling. Johnson responded to the email emphasising the bowling team’s eighth rule of prioritizing academics.
On December 1, Howard removed Johnson from the team describing the Johnson's response to the email as “disrespectful” and “a cancer to the team.”
In solidarity, three other members of the team quit in protest of Johnson’s dismissal.
Well over a month later, as the Johnson’s plight became public after made a post on Instagram , which has since gone viral, and her interview with Roland Martin, and others, FAMU Athletics Director Tiffani Dawn Sykes issued a brief statement supporting Howard’s actions.
FAMU bowling players, and their parents, attempted to contact the athletics administration, including AD Sykes, Sr. Assoc. AD Breon Hagans, Howard, and the compliance department.
. The efforts were to no avail, the players say.
"Our response was that we’re trying to tell our head coach what to do,” Johnson said. “We weren’t trying to tell her what to do. We were trying to tell her how we feel.”
Problems from the start
Howard was appointed as coach in August, but the team did not get to meet with her until mid-September.
And, former team members said that initial meeting did not go well.
In our initial meeting with her we felt “slighted, belittled, and attacked”, said for Rattler Bowler Anna Olay, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “I was uncomfortable with her bringing on walk-ons, and she turned to me and said, ‘I appreciate your opinion, but your opinion doesn’t matter. I’m the head coach.’
"From that point on, the connection was shot."
Down to only 14 sports teams, the minimum to maintain its NCAA D1 status, FAMU was forced hastily field a team yesterday, with six new walk ons and only two members from the team that started the season.