Grand Rapids Community College quietly canceled six games for the women’s basketball team after a tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin on Nov. 2.
After initially declining to release any information regarding the incident that resulted in the cancellations, Lyndsie Post, the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at GRCC, sent a press release to The Collegiate on Nov. 20 detailing the college’s commitment to the safety of its student-athletes.
“At GRCC, we are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all students, athletes and staff,” she stated. “The well-being of our student-athletes and the integrity of our programs remain our top priorities. We take this situation seriously and have worked diligently to ensure a fair and thorough review.”
While college administrators would not disclose any details of the incident, including a video recording, documents obtained by The Collegiate through the Freedom of Information Act during winter break on Dec. 16 detail a fight that broke out in the locker room between former assistant coach Eurasia Green-Boyd and a student-athlete.
This incident ultimately resulted in Green-Boyd’s termination, the six-game suspension of the entire women’s basketball team and the placement of Women’s Head Coach David Glazier, Assistant Athletic Director Joe Fox and Athletic Director Lauren Ferullo on paid administrative leave.
It’s unclear if the student-athlete involved in the altercation remained on the team.
Assistant coach reportedly hits student-athlete after Wisconsin tournament game
After the Raiders fell to Black Hawk College in their Nov. 2 game, a fight between assistant coach Green-Boyd and a student-athlete started in the locker room.
According to recollections of the event from other team members sent to Head Coach David Glazier via text and detailed in documents released in GRCC’s FOIA response, “words were exchanged on the bench and then again in the locker room which ultimately ended up as a fight.” While the documents did not detail exactly what words were exchanged, “Glazier received text messages that indicated the use of the derogatory slur known as the ‘N-word.’”
Witnesses have stated that Green-Boyd pushed, shoved, hit and punched the student-athlete, in addition to taunting with phrases such as “I don’t do pushing, I do hits” and “You said you wanted to slap me; my face is right here.”
Following the fight, Glazier was made aware of the incident by Assistant Coach Mike Janikowski, who informed him that “one of the kids was mad.” Upon learning about the altercation, Glazier reported the incident to Athletic Director Lauren Ferullo. He then reportedly met with Green-Boyd, who was pacing by the bus, and listened to her side before talking to the student-athlete about what happened.
On the bus ride home, Green-Boyd and the student-athlete were separated by Glazier. Green-Boyd was placed in the back with the players while the student-athlete sat with the coaches, according to the documents released by the college.
Six basketball games scheduled between Nov. 5 and Nov. 20 were canceled once the team returned to Michigan. It is unclear what rationale the college provided to the NJCAA for these cancellations, as The Collegiate did not receive any written explanation of these cancellations in the FOIA response.
After GRCC officials declined to release more information on the incident, Collegiate reporters called rival colleges on Nov. 21 and asked if they knew why so many games had been canceled.
Oakland Community College Athletic Director Jamie Corona did not respond when a Collegiate reporter left her a voicemail. She did, however, send an email obtained through the FOIA response to Ferullo and Ford Fieldhouse Director Whitney Marsh stating, “I just wanted to give you both a heads up, a student reporter called me and left a voicemail asking if I knew why the women’s basketball games have been canceled… I didn’t speak with her and don’t plan to, just thought you would like to know.”
When the reporter followed up with her via voicemail on Jan. 7 asking if she was aware of the reason for the game cancellation when she sent that email, Corona did not respond.
GRCC declined to release a video filmed during the fight to The Collegiate, stating that doing so would violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
According to the documents released by GRCC, Assistant Athletic Director and Mens Basketball Head Coach Joe Fox shared the video with Glazier, the women’s head coach, who “went on to express the embarrassment he had for the numbers of players that stood by, watched and recorded the fight without coming to get him or sharing the video with him.”
Three members of the GRCC athletics department put on paid leave, two terminated and six games canceled
Green-Boyd received notice via email that she was placed on “paid administrative leave” on Nov. 5 regarding the locker room incident. The following day, she was terminated from the college and informed that she was not eligible for any future employment or volunteer opportunities with GRCC.
Green-Boyd did not respond when contacted by The Collegiate for comment.
On the same day, the women’s basketball team received notice via email that all team activities were suspended until further notice.
None of the women’s basketball players could be reached for comment.
Additionally, on Nov. 6, Head Coach Glazier, Athletic Director Ferullo and Assistant Athletic Director Fox were all placed on paid administrative leave.
Glazier initially followed protocol by sharing news of the fight with Ferullo, however, when players shared their recollections of the events Glazier did not share that information with his supervisor. According to disciplinary documentation, this “lack of action violated the Conflict of Interest and Misconduct Policy.”
On Nov. 14, Glazier received a documented verbal warning and was advised to ensure important information was shared with the athletic director in a timely manner moving forward.
Glazier did not respond when contacted by The Collegiate for comment.
Much like Glazier did not share more information with Ferullo after the incident, the documents released by the college state that Furello did not reach out to Glazier in the following days and that her “failure to take timely action on the matter represents a violation of GRCC’s Conflict of Interest and Misconduct Policy.”
Going forward, Ferullo will be expected to give her supervisor, Provost Sheila Jones, timely notice when any physical alterations have broken out in addition to following up with involved staff members in a timely manner.
Ferullo was also notified that she will also be expected to come up with an after-hours and weekend procedure and create a training plan for the athletics department staff on proper notification procedures and follow-ups.
Ferullo did not respond when contacted by The Collegiate for comment.
No additional details were given to The Collegiate regarding the paid administrative leave of Assistant Athletic Director Fox.
Fox did not respond when contacted by The Collegiate for comment.
GRCC General Counsel Brett Meyer declined to specify how long each individual was on paid leave, stating that “GRCC does not generally comment on personnel matters” via email.
Volunteer athletic coach Avery Jirous was also let go on Nov. 8 and is ineligible for any future volunteer opportunities or employment opportunities with the college.
Despite the multiple disciplinary measures taken against top athletic department staff, Post, the Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, assured The Collegiate on behalf of Provost Jones and Meyer via email that GRCC handled this incident effectively.
“GRCC is confident the matter in question was handled promptly and appropriately in accordance with our established policies and procedures,” she stated. “Moving forward, our focus is on supporting and celebrating our student-athletes and their accomplishments.”
Collegiate Managing Editor Vanessa Hewitt and reporters Grace Howard and Bianca Bower contributed to this report.
