Yesterday, news came out that Grambling would have to pay a fine and play the next three years of games vs Jackson State on the road. In a statement late last night the schools Athletic Director Aaron James said the ruling is “excessive and comepletely unacceptable.” First the AD:
“If allowed to stand, the conference ruling would mean that Grambling State University would have to pay as much as $305,000 once the $50,000 fine and travel costs at about $41,000 per trip to Jackson and related expenses are included,” James said in a statement. “That’s completely unacceptable.”
And here comes the part where the James blames the players:
“Neither our president (Frank Pogue) nor I have done anything to abdicate our responsibilities and our commitments, and there are no grounds for such rulings,” James said. “We support the rights of our students to voice their opinions, but the university was not responsible in our inability to field a team to travel to Mississippi. Their actions pale in comparison to the overwhelming severe penalties imposed by the conference.”
Officials at Grambling haven’t learned a thing have they? To lay the blame of the situation on the players taking a rightful stance instead of looking in the mirror and admitting they were wrong is shameful. If they call the pictures below living up to their responsibilities I would hate to see what negligence looks like.
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