| Gray Matters: HBCU Administrators Need Course In Due Proce$$ |
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| Sun, Jan 22, 2012 > 8:13pm |
By Mark F. GrayWhen Morgan State decided last Friday to reinstate basketball coach Todd Bozeman because of an investigation into allegations that he hit a player in the chest was deemed “inconclusive” there was a final conclusion to be drawn. There is no due process for coaches and athletic administrators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The unnecessarily embarrassing saga in northeast Baltimore because of an over reaction to a misperception by South Carolina State President George Cooper speaks volumes of how the arrogance of ignorance can leave a black eye on an entire university. That Morgan chose to place Bozeman on administrative leave while in the midst of a road trip in without any concrete evidence has to make you question the credibility of those in charge. Bozeman’s story is the latest in a series of premature rush to judgments by HBCU administrations around the country. Southern fired athletic director Greg LaFleur after he was arrested and charged with soliciting a prostitute during the Final Four in Houston last March. He was found not guilty of those charges by a Texas jury in 34 minutes last Wednesday after the university had previously dismissed him via telephone while he was driving back to campus April 6, 2011. Denise Taylor, Jackson State’s former women’s basketball coach, was fired “for cause” by the university in July 2011 for issues surrounding a trip to the Women‘s Basketball Coaches Association convention in Indianapolis. Her case is now pending litigation. Texas Southern had to pay former women’s basketball coach Surina Dixon $730,000 - without coaching a game - after she alleged gender bias and was fired. A federal court agreed she was unfairly terminated. Last May, current Alcorn State coach Melvin Spears won a $600,000 award following his termination from Grambling in 2006. Those wondering why HBCU’s are struggling need only focus on the misguided way that administrators are handling issues in athletic departments. President’s have so many pressing issues on their agenda that many have become negligent with issues relating to athletics. The advisors who they rely on in consultation have their own agendas and are giving the decision maker either bad or misinformation. What’s most perplexing about the Bozeman story is that it was initiated by President Cooper whose tenure in Orangeburg is on life support at best. Cooper was asked by Senator Charles Ford of Charleston to resign after a no confidence vote by his faculty senate last week. How can a college president, who has more pressing concerns, worry about what’s going on in a visiting basketball team’s huddle during a timeout? Maybe if Cooper spent more time communicating with his faculty and less time sending his campus police to Morgan’s bus to see if a player was trying to press charges for incidental contact against his coach there wouldn’t be as much egg on his face or a black eye of the Bears athletic program. The bottom line is that athletic directors should be given the autonomy to preside over their departments. Those who have the ear of the president’s need to be more objective when pushing an agenda of termination because of personality conflicts which have public relations and financial ramifications these days. The sad irony of the Morgan saga is that last summer the university was named one of America’s Top 10 institutions of higher learning by Forbes Magazine. After 30 years of basketball futility Bozeman has led the Bears to four straight MEAC Championship games. All positives. But all ESPN focused on during the M.L. King Day TV game vs. Hampton was on Bozeman’s administrative leave. Where’s the steak for the unnecessary public relations black eye on the corner of Cold Spring Lane and Hillen Road in Baltimore? Better yet whose going to police those whose in charge who are hemorrhaging HBCU’s for a simple lack of understanding an employee’s right to due process. |