FAMU had 26 players ruled ineligible. So the team wrote a letter to the school president.
The 88 players of Florida A&M’s football team sent a letter to the university’s president, Dr. Larry Robinson, to address various issues related to the “student-athlete experience at FAMU,” according to various reports.
Tallahassee’s ABC affiliate, WTXL, first reported the letter late afternoon Monday.
The issue stems from 26 FAMU players ruled ineligible to play this past weekend against North Carolina, which was reported late last week.
“It was very damaging to the morale of our football team to read on various media outlets, ‘26 FAMU Football Players Ruled Inelible,’” the players wrote in the letter, according to WTXL. “This narrative implies that we are not performing in the classroom. In fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The issue at hand is not academic performance, but procedural issues within the registrar’s office, compliance department and academic advisement.”
The letter states the “root of the issue is the fact that our Academic Advisement and Compliance Offices are understaffed,” because it “consists of one person, who has no subject matter expertise in athletic compliance.”
“Currently, we have multiple players that have been deemed unable to participate in competition because simple tasks such as changing of majors, conferring of degrees and the submission of grades have not been completed promptly,” the letter reads.
North Carolina defeated FAMU, 56-24, and the letter, which was signed by 88 players, addressed the reason for playing despite only seven offensive lineman originally traveling with the team.
“On Friday, after much dialogue within our team, we decided to play at UNC,” the letter reads. “We determined that we would not play for this institution, but for our families, teammates, classmates, our rabid fanbase, and our coaches who had prepared us and loved us. We played our guts out, and in the process, two of our teammates suffered season-ending injuries. After the game, we decided to protest the Marching 100’s playing of the Florida Song and FAMU alma mater by kneeling during both songs. We will continue to do so until significant changes that facilitate a positive student-athlete experience are made. We will not sing a song that begins ‘College of Love and Charity...’ when we feel neither from this university.”
By Monday night, FAMU officials released a statement in response to the players’ issues, according to WTXL.
It reads in full below:
“Consistent with FAMU’s longstanding commitment to maintaining a culture of compliance and conformance with NCAA guidelines, we are justifiably proud of having achieved 13 of our 14 sports programs fully meeting the Academic Progress Rate (APR) requirements per the NCAA’s November 2021 APR Report in spite of rumors and misinformation to the contrary.”
“Our Compliance Team, which includes partners from Compliance, Athletics, Academic Affairs, and Student Affairs, has been working diligently with Athletics since Fall 2021 to implement plans for the remaining non-compliant program to meet the required APR score and join the others so that 100 percent compliance is achieved.
After the assessments of Spring and Summer 2022 academic progress, the Compliance team exercised its due diligence to complete the certification process on August 11 before the Fall sports season began. These are, as always, tight windows and beginning on August 13 waivers began to be submitted to the NCAA based on feedback from our coaches.
The NCAA subsequently issued its decisions on August 24, 25, and 26, 2022. We are confident that our processes are effective and timely. We will continue to monitor our efforts in this regard and pursue all avenues to provide an excellent student experience to every athlete. FAMU is committed to upholding high standards and rigorous adherence to NCAA guidelines.”
