Florida Memorial suspends 3 coaches, including Ice Harris
The Florida Memorial University athletic department is in a state of upheaval following an uptick in COVID-19 cases earlier this month.
The university has postponed all sporting events since Oct. 13 because of COVID-related issues, and four coaches have either been suspended or resigned, including Timothy “Ice” Harris, according to a recording given to the Miami Herald. Two sports teams have also canceled their seasons, the school announced Tuesday.
Known as “Ice,” Harris is a legendary high school football coach in Miami-Dade County, going 114-21 overall and winning three state titles with Miami Booker T. Washington. He also two stints on staff with the Miami Hurricanes. He is in his first season at Florida Memorial, which is playing football for the first time since 1958.
Neither Harris nor athletic director Ernest T. Jones responded to requests for comment, but in the recording, Jones could be heard informing the football staff of his decision to suspend Harris indefinitely. He did not give any reason for the suspension beyond a “disciplinary issue,” and it’s not clear whether the suspension is related to the virus cases on the Miami Gardens campus.
“We’re dealing with a disciplinary issue with Coach Harris. He’s temporarily removed from the program,” Jones said on the recording. “As I told you guys earlier, it’s temporary. We 100 percent plan to have him back, we just don’t know how long that is.”
Jones gave assistant coaches a timeline ranging from just a couple of days through a year and said he will “lead the program as we move forward.”
Jones has experience as a football coach and last served as the interim coach of the FCS Morgan State Bears in 2018.
The university has not announced suspensions of any coaches, but four athletes said volleyball coach Maritta Crockett-Moulton was also suspended and an athletic department source said cheerleading coach Kalyn James was suspended. Men’s soccer coach Connor Campbell also resigned and is no longer listed on the Lions’ athletics website.
On Twitter, the school said Harris and Crockett-Moulton remain employed by the school.
“The University has no further comment on any employment matters at this time,” the tweet said.
On Tuesday, the school announced the remainder of both the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball seasons are canceled.
The school said the decisions were made after conversations with members of both teams and “University leaders honored their request not to continue the season.” The school also said it will continue to honor players’ scholarships through the remainder of the academic year.
“Based on results from a survey administered to studentathletes and coaches, we feel it is in the best interest of the University to cancel the remainder of the women’s volleyball and soccer season,” Jones said in a statement. “This action allows student-athletes to continue to focus on their academics.”
Four athletes said CrockettMoulton’s suspension came after two volleyball players spoke anonymously to HBCUGameday.com accusing the school of ignoring the coronavirus outbreak.
All athletes have requested anonymity for fear of retribution or loss of scholarship. The parent of one women’s basketball player told the Herald her daughter was kicked off her team after criticizing the university on social media, although she is still listed on the online roster and Jones denied any knowledge of the player’s removal.
Florida Memorial, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, is one of the few historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) competing in athletics this fall, and the only HBCU football team playing in the fall.
The Lions were able to get through the first month of fall sports season without the coronavirus disrupting the sports calendar before an outbreak began late in September.
Florida Memorial ultimately had to postpone a football game and men’s soccer game Oct. 3, another men’s soccer game Wednesday, and football, men’s soccer and women’s volleyball games Saturday.