A prominent Florida State player has threatened a boycott of team workouts following a Mike Norvell statement on Wednesday.
Speaking to The Athletic, the Florida State head coach was asked if the program has done any outreach to black players following this weekend. This is the beginning of his answer:
"We've had a lot of open communication with our team, our players and our coaches. I went back and forth individually with every player this weekend."
Late Wednesday night, Florida State defensive tackle Marvin Wilson denied that Norvell and the FSU staff had reached out to each player.
"Man this (poop emoji) did not happen mane," he said in a tweet. "We got a generated text that was sent to everybody. There was no one on one talk between us and coach. This is a lie me and my teammates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until further notice."
View the whole exchange below.
A former 5-star recruit, Wilson is a rising senior, a projected first round pick next spring, and a leader on FSU's roster. As such, his statement was publicly backed up by a handful of his teammates.
Florida State began voluntary workouts on June 1, placing the Seminoles among the very first programs to resume preparations for the 2020 season.
While there is room for Norvell to come back later today with an "I misspoke" statement, the episode underscores a larger point.
After a weekend in which nearly every FBS head coach released a statement expressing sadness for what George Floyd's killing represents for the Black community and pledging to do their part to create change, players will be watching with expectation that their coaches' words are married to action. That's especially true at a program like Florida State, with a new coaching staff that has been through all of three spring practices with their new team. (For an example of meeting words and action, Missouri football players and coaches led a march to the Columbia courthouse on Wednesday, where more than 60 players registered to vote.)
"It’s heartbreaking seeing the events that have taken place throughout our country this week as well as the countless number of injustices done out of hate, discrimination, and ignorance throughout my lifetime," Norvell said in a tweet on Friday. "This is an incredible message & perspective we all must stand together."
Update: Following a team meeting, cooler heads appear to have prevailed in Tallahassee.
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