Iona star out after punching coach

Roland Griffin, Iona’s top returning player, says he has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team after an altercation with an assistant coach.

The preseason AllMAAC second team selection told Stadium’s John Goodman that he punched assistant coach Garfield “Ricky” Johns after they got into an argument Monday. Griffin said he punched Johns multiple times in self-defense.

“We got in each other’s face,” Griffin told Stadium. “It was really heated. He eventually grabbed me by the jacket and tried to throw me down on the ground physically. We were against the locker, wrestling against the locker. He was grabbing me and holding me. … I’m not going to let another man physically do that to me. I punched him four or five times, then I stopped.”

Stadium reports the senior guard met with head coach Tim Cluess and was told by the school he would face a disciplinary suspension that will bar him from campus activities through the end of May 2020, thus ending his season and likely career with the Gaels. Griffin still was listed on the team’s roster on the school’s official athletics website Saturday night.

The Stadium report said Johns was hospitalized briefly with a head injury, was later released and didn’t return to work for the rest of the week. A source close to the coach told Stadium that Johns indicated Griffin started the fight.

Iona issued a statement in response to inquiries about Griffin’s standing with the team and the alleged fight with Johns.

“Iona College takes all matters of health and safety seriously,” the statement said. “We take every action necessary to ensure the well-being of the members of our community. The College does not comment on student disciplinary matters or student information.”