The Florida A&M football team may now return to its activities after a brief suspension following Boston Richey’s music video being filmed in the team’s locker room.
On Tuesday, Tiffani-Dawn Sykes, FAMU’s director of collegiate athletics, announced that all football-related events could resume immediately. However, she did confirm that an investigation remained ongoing into the controversial video and whoever approved it. School officials were seemingly not aware that it had taken place until the footage hit the internet, according to ESPN.
“An investigation into the unauthorized video that was partially filmed in the football locker room is being led by the University’s Office of Compliance and Ethics,” she wrote before adding that she wouldn’t be addressing the issue again until after the probe was complete.
The reinstatement of the football team comes just days after coach Willie Simmons’ took swift action following the video’s release. In the visual for “Send a Blitz,” Richey is seen rocking a FAMU athletic shirt as several players surround him in various scenes holding up FAMU helmets. Given some of the lyrics, which refer to guns, “opps lacking,” and sexual acts with women, Simmons’ felt that the song was not in line with the school’s values.
His decision sparked a fierce debate online amongst current and former students. Some believed that the video was harmless, especially given the fact that Richey previously led the football team out of the tunnel during the 2022 Homecoming game. Others felt that shooting such a video without proper authorization was reckless and painted the university in a bad light.
Nevertheless, the controversy is over, at least for now. The Rattlers will return to practice on August 4th as they gear up for their season-opening game against Jackson State University on September 3rd.
