Last Tuesday several members of the football team held a sit-in protest in the field house in an attempt to have a suspended player reinstated for Saturday's game against Southwestern Oklahoma.
The player, junior defensive back Ameer Ali was suspended from the team due to his involvement in an altercation during the homecoming party in the Memorial Student Center Nov. 1, according to a source close to the team.
The source said Ali was involved in a shouting match with head coach Scotty Conley, ultimately leading to his suspension.Conley confirmed Ali was involved in an altercation in the MSC and due to his involvement has been suspended from all football activities until the fall semester of 2009.
The protest started close to 2 p.m. on Tuesday and ended in a closed meeting that the press was not permitted to attend.Conley said players told him later some wanted to have a conversation with Athletic Director Carlton Cooper, but had no intention of starting any kind of protest."Some of the players went to the office and Cooper was out of town," Conley said. "They waited for him and consequently missed practice."
According to the source, the meeting, which was between the protesting players and the sports administration, ended without Ali's reinstatement. The source added that the players' football careers and scholarships were threatened because of their involvement in the protest.Conley rejected this claim saying there were no threats issued.According to the source, another meeting was held the next day in which Conley told the team that senior running back, Nebil El-Amin, was off the team and would not play Saturday.
This did not come to pass though, with El-Amin playing during Saturday's game and scoring two touchdowns. Conley said there were some issues with El-Amin, but they were handled prior to the start of last Saturday's game.Conley added although it is regrettable having to discipline a player, it is necessary for athletes to adhere to a code of conduct...
Read the rest of the story at the East Texan (TAMC Student Newspaper)
1 comment:
Looks like Conley has lost the ship in Commerce.
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