The tiny college in the valley recently changed its moniker to CSUN, but the Blacks in the athletic department, specifically the men’s basketball players, their head coach and the athletic director are all left in a cloud of darkness.
Last November, three days before Cal State Northridge’s first exhibition men’s basketball game, Athletic Director Brandon Martin announced in a statement that Northridge would “sit several basketball players due to potential violations of team rules and university policies until a full and thorough investigation is completed.” He did not identify the players involved, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which usually indicates academic issues.
Since these student athletes were scholarship players, it put head coach Reggie Theus in a no win situation.
Because Martin, the newly hired Black athletic director was responsible for hiring Theus it also painted him in an unusual light.
Instead of Northridge’s basketball team going for an NCAA tournament berth with its highly touted freshmen and incoming transfers, the team plummeted to 9-24.
The players, freshmen Jabril Faulkner (Washington D.C.), Michael Warren (Washington DC), Tavrion Dawson (Gardena, Serra), Jerron Wilbut (Chicago) and Seton Hall transfer Kevin Johnson are in no better situation now than last November.
According to sources the players have hired an attorney and are allegedly accusing CSUN of ruling them ineligible because of the color of their skin.
The source indicated that CSUN has an ongoing problem with graduating Black students, but refusing to provide adequate services of support as deemed by the student handbook.
The school has reportedly accused the students of cheating on online test and utilizing school testing banks designed to aid studying for test.
CSUN has held multiple internal meetings and has reportedly refused to afford Martin an extension on his contract as athletic director, placing both he and head coach Theus job in jeopardy.
A former NBA player and coach, Theus had apprenticed under Louisville’s Rick Pitino and then led New Mexico State to the NCAA tournament.
