Quinn Gray, the head football coach at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla., and assistant coach Brandon Youmans have been suspended over a pregame chant that included a profanity.
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, video came to light after a 55-0 Lincoln victory over Leon on Thursday, but there had also been a complaint issued to the Leon County Schools that it had happened against Navarre on Sept. 12 and against Chiles last week. Lincoln principal Allen Burch and athletic director Joe Vallese were informed by Scott Hansen, Leon County School’s new director of student Activities, of the violation.
Gray and Youmans were penalized the loss of one game for the video depicting Lincoln’s football players huddled up during pregame warm-ups, 45 minutes before kickoff, for a ritualistic hype chant that included an expletive.
“I’m flabbergasted and really don’t know what’s going on because I haven’t seen the video yet,” Gray said. “One thing I know, we don’t put any school’s name in the chant. It’s news to me and comes as a shocker. I know I didn’t do anything, but I’m responsible for the program. I’m going to look at the video and figure it out.”
“[Hansen] told me that there was a video of kids chanting before the game and using cuss words, and there was a coach [Youmans] leading it, and the head coach [Gray] allowed it,” Vallese told the Democrat. “There were multiple infractions, but [Friday] morning was the first I’d heard of it.”
“The video – we’ve got to clean it up,” Vallese continued. “We have a responsibility to do the right thing. It’s not acceptable and not what we want to represent about Lincoln High School.”
Gray, in his third year as head coach, and Youmans, who helps coach the offense and is Lincoln's flag football head coach, will be suspended for the Trojans’ next game at Crestview, an important District 1-7A game. Both coaches won’t be allowed to travel with the team, but they are available for practices leading up to the game.
