By Paul Elias
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Former Feather River College football players in a federal lawsuit are accusing the remote Northern California community college of racial discrimination for cutting them and other black players from the team.
The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sacramento federal court accuses the Quincy, Calif., community college of discriminatory practices that began last year after a black assistant coach was passed over for promotion to head coach. The lawsuit alleges that 18 black players were cut from the team right before classes were to begin for the fall semester.
The three players who filed the lawsuit are represented by the same two attorneys who sued the school last year on behalf of former assistant coach Eric Small. Small alleges he was passed over for promotion to head coach last year because he was black.
The school's human resources director Jamie Canon said race is never considered in coaching decisions and that Feather River denies the allegations.
"Our athletic department, as a whole, strives to pick the very best student athletes that meet academic, financial, civil, and athletic criteria at all times," Canon said.
The school in court papers denied Small's allegations. They argue that Small was passed over for more qualified candidates and urged Small to remain on the staff as an assistant, even though he alleged his office was moved to a converted broom closet.
Also, school administrators said last year that budget cuts required the school to reduce the size of its football team from 115 players to 85 by this school year.
Small recruited the dismissed players, many from the South, including the former players suing the school: Emory Boyd Jr., Quinton Hancock and Nicholos Page. Small alleges he was told to tell those players they were no longer on the team after they had purchased plane tickets to attend Feather River College from as far away as North Carolina.
The former players were told of their dismissals in July and August, too late to find roster spots at other schools, both lawsuits allege.
Published: Fri, Jan 28, 2011
