Fans of Florida A&M football can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Florida A&M Rattlers vice president and athletics director Tiffani-Dawn Sykes made a major announcement on her Twitter account on Tuesday. The school allowed the Florida A&M Rattlers team to resume football-related activities.
— Tiffani-Dawn (@Tiffani_Sykes) July 24, 2023
Florida A&M head coach Willie Simmons suspended all football-related activities on Friday. Simmons discovered some of his players shot a music video inside the locker room.
The video “contained graphic language that is not consistent with Florida A&M’s core values, principles, and beliefs,” per CNN’s Wayne Sterling. The video also featured licensed collegiate apparel that could violate Florida A&M’s trademark agreements.
A valuable learning experience for Florida A&M football
“It’s a privilege to wear the Orange and Green and as a football program, our young men have failed to live up to the standards set before us,” Simmons told Sterling on Friday. “They will all learn from this mishap and we will continue to work hard every day to become the best version of ourselves and continue to make Rattler Nation proud.”
Tallahassee rapper Real Boston Richey uploaded his song “Send A Blitz” on YouTube several hours before Simmons suspended Florida A&M football activities. Florida A&M University is located in Tallahassee, FL.
Rattlers players filmed part of Richey’s video inside their locker room. The video featured some of the players and had explicit lyrics. Richey also wore Florida A&M helmets in the video, per the Tallahassee Democrat’s Jim Henry. The rapper didn’t mention anything related to the program in the video.
Florida A&M aims to pick up where it left off in the 2022 NCAA season. The Rattlers had an impressive 9-2 record and finished second in the SWAC’s East Division last year.
The Rattlers will kick off their 2023 NCAA season against the Jackson State Tigers in the Orange Blossom Classic on September 3. Florida A&M football will play on its renamed Ken Riley Field beginning this season.
