Outburst costs coach 6 weeks
Pahokee’s Walkes hit with suspension after profane argument with official
Pahokee football coach Orson Walkes missed his team’s past three games because the Florida High School Athletic Association suspended him for six weeks for a profane ingame argument Walkes had with an official in October, according to an FHSAA report. Pahokee was also assessed a $1,000 fine by the FHSAA.
Walkes, who has coached Pahokee for three seasons, missed the Muck Bowl and a pair of playoff games. The Blue Devils went 1-2 in his absence, including a regional final loss to Hawthorne last week that ended their season.
The incident occurred during Pahokee’s 35-14 home loss to Cocoa on Oct. 26. After Cocoa scored, Walkes told an official, “This one is on you because of your f------ call, the call was f------ b-------, you are f------ horrible,” according to Lee Mowry, the official filing the report.
After being flagged by the official, Walkes was removed from the field by an assistant, according to the report.
Walkes’ suspension runs through Dec. 9. During that time, he is not allowed to participate in any school athletic contest. He is also required to complete a six-hour “Teaching and Modeling Behavior” course.
Pahokee athletic director Bryan Crawford said the school appealed the decision but the appeal was denied. The argument is considered a Level 2 “unsportsmanlike conduct” offense under FHSAA Policy 30.3.
Crawford said there are no plans to remove Walkes from his position.
“As far as I know, everything is secure,” Crawford said.
Walkes could not be reached for comment. Crawford said Walkes was upset with the referees because he believed the officials missed penalties.
“There were some, like I said, penalties that were not called against Cocoa at the time,” Crawford said. “And that’s why he was upset, and just stuff that happened throughout the game. So, of course, once he got ejected, he was upset. And then when they came with the six-[week] suspension … that, even more, was a disappointment.”
Walkes’ Blue Devils teams have gone 14-23 over the last three years due to 14 forfeited games (including the Class 1A state championship) in 2016. Without those 14 forfeits for using ineligible players, Walkes would be 28-9.