Northwestern football(High School) spared but coaches ousted

[Buffmaster]

Northwestern football spared but coaches ousted


Miami Northwestern High School will keep its vaunted football program but lose its football coaching staff following a grand jury report on the coverup of a sex scandal at the school.

Miami Northwestern's quarterback Jacory Harris hugs former coach Roland Smith as assistant coach Rodney Harris (Jacory's father) walks by outside the Miami-Dade School Board. Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Rudy Crew removed the football team's coaching staff for the upcoming season after an incident involving one of the players last year that was covered up by the school's administration.

Miami Northwestern's football team can defend its state championship this year, but its coaching staff will be gone.

In a decision announced Wednesday at a packed School Board meeting, Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew backed off his threat to suspend the Bulls' storied football program -- but he implemented tough new rules of football participation for Northwestern and the district's nine other F-rated schools.

Crew held up a list of 21 teachers, coaches and counselors who knew about but did not report a sex scandal involving former star running back Antwain Easterling, and said all of them will be removed from the school. That list includes football coach Roland Smith and his staff, news that prompted team members attending the meeting to abruptly leave.

Crew presented the moves as an attempt to change the culture of a school long dominated by athletics. In a scathing report, a Miami-Dade grand jury blamed that culture for a coverup of sex between Easterling and a 14-year-old girl in a school restroom. The grand jury said the district and the school ``allowed for the glory of football to trump the needs and safety of a little girl.''

''You're going to play ball this season,'' Crew told an auditorium packed with fans dressed in the Bulls' signature yellow and blue. ``You're going to do so under a probationary period.''

The Bulls and players at all F-rated schools must sign a contract pledging to respect women and follow the rules, as well as maintain a 2.5 grade-point average, instead of a 2.0. The change must be approved by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

''I think it's a good change,'' said Shanisha Descally, 16, a senior in Northwestern's marching band. ``Now students will give as much effort to their schoolwork as they do their extracurriculars.''

Players refused to comment, and some had tears in their eyes.

''These boys are going to suffer; they're so attached to those men,'' said Ada Demps, whose son Robert is a senior player. ``For some, that's all they had. Some of them don't have a parent -- period.''

Northwestern Principal Charles Hankerson will remain. He is the school's sixth principal in three years, which many say contributed to academic problems and instability at the school.

''You can't look at the situation if you don't look at that,'' said Laurence Axtell, a Northwestern social studies teacher. ``You can't talk about academic rigor if you have a merry-go-round of administrators.''

Axtell said some of the ideas presented by Crew, such as implementing a college preparatory program, have been discussed for years but never implemented because of the turnover in principals.

Head Coach Smith, his assistants and players in attendance met in the adjacent WLRN building for nearly half an hour after the decision was made. Smith -- who was named The Miami Herald's Boys' Sports Coach of the Year after leading the Bulls to a 15-0 record and the state championship -- and several of his assistants did not talk to the media.

''We have to accept the decision that's been made,'' said Northwestern assistant coach Rodney Harris, whose son Jacory is the starting quarterback. ``It's going to be difficult for the kids this season, but the team will be all right.''

Crew had been quietly meeting with community leaders for the past two weeks to discuss options. Though Crew outlined several ideas dealing with academic and personnel changes at the F-rated school, it was the possible suspension of football -- the cornerstone of Northwestern's athletic program and a source of pride throughout the Liberty City community -- that angered many Bulls fans.

The sex coverup has made headlines across Florida since December, and an investigation indicated Easterling was given special treatment after he was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a minor. Though a School Board rule mandated a 10-day suspension, Easterling was never disciplined, and school and district officials allowed him to play in the championship game. The Bulls won.

The investigation led to the indictment of former Principal Dwight Bernard, who was charged with two counts of official misconduct for failing to report the incident. Easterling, who will play for the University of Southern Mississippi this fall, completed a pretrial diversion program that will keep his record clean.

Last week, the school's athletic director, Gregory Killings, resigned after 23 years there.

Crew's decision Wednesday leaves a team recently ranked No. 1 in the nation by Rise Magazine, a national publication dedicated to high school sports, searching for an experienced coach to replace Smith, who led Northwestern to a 69-13 record over six seasons.

''As far as I know, the decision will be handled entirely by Mr. Hankerson, and I'm sure he will make the right decision that will stabilize our young men,'' said Larry Williams, president of the Northwestern Alumni Association.

Richard P. Dunn, a Northwestern alumnus and president of PULSE, People United to Lead the Struggle for Equality, said Crew told a group of ministers the district would toughen academic requirements for players.

''I think he looked at the situation and realized that to take away football would not cure the problem,'' Dunn told The Miami Herald.

``Football was not the reason this thing happened at Northwestern. Football is neither moral nor immoral.''

Miami Herald staff writer Andrea Robinson contributed to this report.

[gmsnctry]

''These boys are going to suffer; they're so attached to those men,'' said Ada Demps, whose son Robert is a senior player. ``For some, that's all they had. Some of them don't have a parent -- period.''

These fuckers (so called men) werent parents (or men -- NO MAN acts or justifies this sick shit), they were morons (and enablers)-- 21 adults covered this shit up -- fucking disgusting -- they should all (plus the RB) be in jail

[AYHJA]

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