Florida A&M's head football coach suspends football-related activities amid another Rattlers' athletic department controversy.
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00:00 The Florida A&M football team is hit with another controversy.
00:05 So what's next for coach Willie Simmons and his football team?
00:10 Let's talk about it.
00:12 Hi, this is Kyle T. Mosley of HBCU Legends on Sports Illustrated's FANNATION.
00:24 The Florida A&M program has been hit left and right with controversy since last season.
00:31 And he posted a rap video that was shot inside of the football team's locker room at the facilities.
00:42 And there's no idea who was responsible for authorizing the video.
00:48 That's the major issue.
00:50 So what has happened since is that coach Simmons has suspended all football related activities as a result.
01:01 Simmons released a statement on social media saying the internal investigation is underway to determine who authorized the use of not only the athletic facility at Gallimore Powell,
01:15 but also the license apparel that is potentially in violation to the university's branding and licensing agreements.
01:24 Now, what is he talking about as far as the branding and licensing agreements?
01:30 The licensing agreement that we're talking about stems from the multi-year, I think it was a six year pact that Nike had with LeBron James' apparel being promoted solely at Florida A&M.
01:47 The 14 sports programs are using the apparel as well as the famous marching band.
01:55 So does this rap video violate the agreement that they have in place?
02:02 That's a part of the investigation.
02:05 But here's the issue. If there's any player or players that will be suspended because of their involvement in this rap video, will that potentially harm the football program,
02:24 especially as they prepare for the season opener in the Orange Blossom Classic against SWAC East rival Jackson State?
02:34 So when we look at everything that's going down today,
02:40 how will Coach Simmons, as well as Tiffany Dawn Sykes, who's the vice president of athletics for the department, as well as Dr. Robinson, who's the president of FAMU,
02:56 how will they respond to this latest controversy?
03:01 Look, this program has been hit by a rash of strange occurrences.
03:08 Recently, Tiffany Dawn Sykes has withdrawn the university for participating in future Orange Blossom Classics.
03:21 Kamari Stevens has decided to re-enter the transfer portal after he decided to come back to the institution.
03:30 He just did that on July 10th.
03:33 And now this unauthorized rap video has given another black eye to the athletic department.
03:42 We will have more information from HBCU Legends coming to you on this issue.
03:49 So go to HBCU Legends dot net for the latest in HBCU sports news.
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