|
 VSU coach Latrell Scott said there was a "rush to judgment" and that
one player "made a bad decision."
A few hours later in Winston-Salem, N.C., WSSU Chancellor Donald
Reaves called for further sanctions against Virginia State and
declared his school "damaged" by the fight.
The CIAA, which opted to cancel its championship game, also declared
Virginia State ineligible for postseason play.
Johnson appeared with sunglasses at the WSSU presser, concealing the
cuts above and below his blackened right eye.
The quarterback said he was punched, stomped and kicked by as many
as six Virginia State players during the fight that also left him
with a headache, a sore back and sore ribs.
Trojans running back Lamont Daniel Britt has been charged with
misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury in the fight involving
Johnson.
Scott said four Trojans players were questioned after the incident,
but Britt is the only player to have been charged.
"I acknowledge that we had one young man who made a bad decision, as
young men sometimes do," Scott said Monday morning during an
often-contentious news conference held at his school and attended by
many team members and some frustrated parents.
Citing the ongoing investigations, VSU officials declined to comment
on what precipitated the fight.
Johnson, however, provided details of the altercation.
He said when he entered the bathroom, the Virginia State players
asked if he was the Rams' starting quarterback and as he washed his
hands, "somebody hit me on my blind side."
He said he felt "four or five feet stomping on me and kicking me"
and the Virginia State players fled when two other Winston-Salem
State players emerged from their bathroom stalls.
Johnson said he couldn't identify the Virginia State players
because, "I could barely see the guy who hit me until after he hit
me."
The QB said he has not hired an attorney, has not decided whether to
bring criminal charges but declared that, "I'm positive I'll play
Saturday."
Winston-Salem State, the No. 4 seed in its region, plays
fifth-seeded Slippery Rock in the first round of the Division II
playoffs.
Reaves said his school plans to file a formal complaint with the
CIAA and the NCAA, saying Virginia State "lacked institutional
control over its football team when they came to our campus."
He said neither Virginia State President Keith T. Miller nor
athletic director Peggy Davis attended the luncheon, "and the
supervision of that team was left to the football coach," Reeves
said. Reeves said Scott "refused to cooperate and ...
came very close on Friday afternoon to being arrested" for
obstruction, adding that the coach "went completely berserk"
when asked for Miller's contact information.
"He was more out of control than his players were," Reeves said.
[to top of second column] |
The WSSU president also pointed to Scott's previous legal
problems.
Scott resigned as Richmond's head coach less than two weeks
before the 2011 season started after being arrested and charged
with driving under the influence. He joined the staff at James
Madison for the 2012 season as tight ends coach, and was hired
at Virginia State on January 2013.
"That speaks, I think, to the character of the person who was
left in charge of those 55 young men," Reaves said of Scott.
"You can't be the leader of young men with that kind of
background."
The Trojans and Winston-Salem State both had 9-1 records heading
into the championship.
"As you all know, things in life happen, and when things happen,
right or wrong, you deal with them head on, and we are committed
as a university and an athletic department to deal with this
situation head on, honestly, truthfully and with integrity,"
said Scott, in his first season at VSU.
Miller said Virginia State is cooperating with local authorities
and conducting its own investigation. He said he hopes to have
the results of the probe "in the next week." He said Britt is
suspended indefinitely pending the outcome on the school's
investigation, and that after a season of great accomplishment
for the team, "Friday afternoon's event has tarnished that work,
and we are disappointed."
Miller expressed regret that the game was canceled but said he
understood the decision, drawing the ire of parents who angrily
questioned Miller, Davis and Scott, including about not
punishing those who weren't involved.
"Did anybody speak up on behalf of our children?" asked
Kimberley Thorpe, whose son, Justin, was the Trojans'
quarterback. "Did anybody, did any one person raise their hand
and say, 'Slow up. Wait a minute. Stop. Let's have a reasonable,
rational conversation.' ... I want somebody up there to tell me
that you spoke up on his behalf.
"That's what the people want to hear. That's all we
want to know is that somebody that has power, or perceived power,
did something other than negate their whole season."
Miller said he asked the league to consider other options, but it
wasn't his decision.
"We're as frustrated as anyone," Miller said. "We're as dismayed as
anyone. We're a family at Virginia State University and this has
been challenging for everyone involved. Everyone involved.
"So we're doing the best we can in regards to responding, but there
are a lot of issues still out there, and we look forward to having
those issues resolved and having the facts come out."
[Associated
Press; HANK KURZ Jr., AP Sports Writer]
AP Sports Writer Joedy
McCreary in Winston-Salem, N.C., contributed to this report.
Follow Hank Kurz Jr. on
Twitter
at:
http://twitter.com/hankkurzjr.
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