FSU football player says team will boycott workouts after coach's statement

A Florida State University football player announced he and his teammates will boycott workouts following first-year coach Mike Norvell’s response to the protests over the death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died after having his neck pinned to the ground by a police officer’s knee. 

In a tweet, defensive tackle Marvin Wilson refuted reporting by The Athletic that quoted Norvell saying he had individually spoken with every player. He called Norvell’s claim a “lie” and said the team was “outraged.”

“Man this did not happen mane,” Wilson tweeted. “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 and me and my teammates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until further notice #hunchoout.”

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In his statement to The Athletic, Norvell said reaching out to his players was important during this “heartbreaking” time. 

He added that he was honored to help his players make a difference.

“You see some of the acts that have occurred; I mean, it is a problem,” Norvell said. “And it’s something that we have to stand together and we have to work to get it fixed.”

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FSU Athletic Director David Coburn confirmed to ESPN that there was a team meeting just hours after Wilson’s public comments.

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