High-school-basketball-coach-threatens-send-player-home-Haiti-profane-rant
'I'm the dirtiest, baddest motherf***er on this earth': High school basketball coach calls a player 'r*****ed' and threatens to send him back to his home in Haiti in a profane rant
- Mike Woodbury – the owner of Port Saint Lucie's Nation Christian Academy, where he coaches boys basketball – was recorded threatening the player
- During the recording, Woodbury can be heard saying that he 'control[s] transcripts,' seemingly implying he could control the player's GPA
- When the player received his transcripts, he had a 1.4 grade-point average (GPA). He asserts that Woodbury changed his grades to harm his future
- Woodbury denied the accusation and attributed the lower numbers to an 'error'
- The rant seems to be in response to the player's decision to transfer schools
- In the statement, Woodbury claims the foreign student actually lived with him
- The player and a teammate claim they found a damaging conversation between Woodbury and a woman, which spurred him to ask for a request to transfer
- Players coached by Woodbury in Maine claimed he verbally abused them
A basketball coach who owns a private academy in Florida has admitted to a profanity-laced tirade in which he called a player 'r*****ed' while threatening to send him back to his home country of Haiti after the student told him he was transferring to another school.After a recording of the profane tirade was released on YouTube, Mike Woodbury – the owner of Port Saint Lucie's Nation Christian Academy – admitted to the rant in a school statement.
Woodbury said the full conversation lasted 20 minutes. The YouTube clip is about three minutes long, but contains a litany of derogatory terms aimed at the player, who was seemingly telling the coach he intended to transfer.
In speaking with Stadium, the player said he left Nation Christian Academy two days after the
'Just get out of my face,' Woodbury said at the start of the clip. 'Take your broke asses – I'll say it again – your broke asses back to the garage. I don't want to hear from you. The bottom line … get the f*** out. Just walk the f*** out. I don't give a shit. I control transcripts. I control where you go next. It could be back to Haiti, mother****er. That's how easy it is for me.'
According to Stadium, that player and a teammate claim they found a damaging conversation between Woodbury and a woman, which spurred the player to ask Nation Christian's head of school for a release and transfer.
When the player, who is reportedly being recruited by McNeese State, Louisiana Tech and other mid-majors, received his transcripts, he had a 1.4 grade-point average (GPA). He asserts that Woodbury changed his grades, but Woodbury denied the accusation and attributed the lower numbers to an 'error in calculation.'
During the recording, Woodbury can be heard saying that he 'control[s] transcripts,' seemingly implying he could control the player's GPA.
Woodbury alleged to Stadium that the player had attempted to extort school leadership.
The player, who was in his second season at the school after moving over from Haiti at 15, allegedly skipped school, which, as Woodbury told Stadium, was the final straw.
The player denied many of the specific charges made against him by Woodbury to Stadium, and insists he was not trying to extort anyone.
Rather, the player claimed, he was worried the school would be shut down and he wanted to transfer before that happened.
He claims Woodbury's efforts to misrepresent his GPA negatively impacted his chances to transfer: 'I’ve already had two schools close down on me. I was afraid this one would be shut down also, so I wanted to get out of there.'
Multiple players coached by Woodbury in Maine told Stadium they witnessed verbal abuse from him. The private school league in which Nation Academy was a member of, Sunshine Independent Athletic Association, told Stadium it parted ways with the institution.
Woodbury released a statement Wednesday: 'First, I want to apologize for the vulgar language that was used in the video that has been circulating around. I have had this particular student for a year. He is like family and sometimes family arguments get blown out of proportion.
'I am in no way justifying the language, however, there are two sides to every story. This conversation did not take place at school, I do not coach the team. Without indicting the child too much, there were multiple conduct issues while this student was attending school and living in my home with my wife and son. One issue was criminal in nature, that was not pursed as the intentions are not to cause lifelong damage to this student.
'Also, this particular student was asked to leave the school and we arranged for it to be done so amicably. The timeline on this "conversation" is deceiving as this was on 10/17/2018 with 4 other students and another coach present. This conversation was in regards to the several conduct issues and lasted 35 minutes, the particular clip was dubbed to 3 minutes. I am readily available for comment.'
The rant went viral after former Kentucky Wildcats star and journeyman NBA guard Rex Chapman posted the YouTube link on Twitter.
'Sickening,' Chapman wrote. 'Please pay attention to the people "coaching" your kids. This is Nation Christian Academy Head Basketball Coach Mike Woodbury reacting to a player transferring. He was recorded. This is not coaching. Or teaching...'
By Alex Raskin Sports News Editor For Dailymail.com and Associated Press | October 31, 2018See full video below - Warning: Graphic content
New York Knicks: Former Columbia Forward Jeff Coby To Sign
The New York Knicks will sign Jeff Coby, a former Columbia forward, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando.
The New York Knicks appeared to complete their training camp roster for training camp, with the signing of Tyrius Walker on an Exhibit 10 deal. This brought the group to 20 players, but could there be another change on the way?
According to Nicola Lupo of Sportando, the Knicks will sign Jeff Coby, a former forward at Columbia. ESPN’s Ian Begley added how Coby worked out for the team recently and impressed in informal sessions and garnered the coaching staff’s attention.
Coby played for the Haitian National Team and spent the past year in Spain, and while at Columbia, he averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds on 43 percent shooting from 2013-17.
No indication on what kind of deal Cody signed, but another Exhibit 10 deal makes sense so he can join the Westchester Knicks for the 2018-19 season.Coby’s presence makes him the 21st player on the training camp roster, and teams can only carry 20 into the season. That puts someone onThat puts someone on the outside looking in.The obvious name is Joakim Noah, with reports of his impending departure before training camp. He and the Knicks have battled through a tumultuous relationship for the past two years, since the former president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson, gave the veteran center a four-year, $72 million deal in 2016.A waive-and-stretch scenario is the most likely way to remove Noah from the roster. That’s unless a team steps up with trade interest.If not Noah, the Knicks have players on partially guaranteed deals, including Kadeem Allen and Noah Vonleh, but it would be a surprise to see either be cut as this saga reaches its conclusion.With Coby around, look for the Knicks and Noah to end this two-year-long adventure and open a roster spot for camp. It still leaves decisions before the start of the season, as the squad must trim down to 17 (15 without the way-way players).
by: Rob Wolkenbrod for dailyknicks.com | September 21, 2018
Eagles' Carson Wentz pledges up to $500,000 to bring lights, Wi-Fi and sports fields to Haiti
(Photo courtesy of Phillymag.com)
The Pro Bowl quarterback visited the country for the second time in as many years this offseason
After his second trip to Haiti in as many years, Carson Wentz is putting his own imprint on the country, and he's doing it by donating up to $500,000 for the construction of a sports complex that will bring ball fields, dormitories, lights and Internet access to hundreds of local residents.The Philadelphia Eagles' third-year quarterback first paid a visit to underprivileged areas of the Caribbean country in the 2017 offseason, when his AO1 Foundation announced a $500,000 commitment to a multipurpose complex. Now, having recently joined teammates Zach Ertz, Nate Sudfeld and Rashard Davis in starting work on the facility back in Haiti, Wentz has announced via Twitter that he'll match every dollar -- up to an additional $500,000 -- pledged to his foundation for the completion of the complex.
The sports complex is a product of Wentz's partnership with Mission of Hope Haiti, a nonprofit that "seeks to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti" through everything from orphan care and nutrition programs to leadership training and Christian church advancement.As reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia, it's set to feature "10 soccer fields, two indoor basketball courts, six outdoor basketball courts, (a) 5,000-shaded-seat track and field, dormitories for 200 people, locker rooms and a community park with Wi-Fi, a play space and lighting" -- most of which area residents do not currently have at their disposal.by: Cody Benjamin for CBSSports.com | May 1, 2018