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Mr. Ed -> RE: General Gopher Talk (5/26/2016 2:19:26 PM)
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Even former Gophers are not immune to issues these days
Oh Ricky...
Former University of Minnesota quarterback Rickey Foggie’s quest to become the new head football coach at Eagan is not over.
Foggie, who accepted the job on May 13 only to be put in a position where he was asked to resign Monday night, said Wednesday night that he would fight to keep the job.
According to Foggie and his supporters, the Eagan administration rejected his candidacy after learning that he may have inadvertently followed, and liked, a Twitter account that promotes a pornography website. At first Foggie was asked to take his Twitter site down and speak to the football players about it, which he did Monday morning. He was called back by Eagan administrators Monday evening, where he was confronted again about the Twitter site.
“It was an accidental follow, but I accepted that it was a mistake,” Foggie said. “I talked to the kids and they were so supportive. You could see in their eyes they were ready for something different. I’m not sure what changed.”
School District 196 released a statement Tuesday saying that he resigned for personal reasons. Foggie said he felt he didn’t have a choice.
“I was backed into a corner,” he said. “I was led to understand that the “like” would go away quietly if I went away quietly. But I’ve never been someone who’s involved in things like [pornography]. That’s not in my character.”
Foggie, who lives in Eagan, said his tough upbringing trained him not to back down from a fight, so he’s vowed to keep working to get the Eagan football coaching position. He’s had plenty of support from the community. According to one member of the Eagan football booster club, the school received almost two dozen calls in Foggie’s favor Wednesday.
“Most people want him here,” said Paul Bjorklund, who has a son on the football team. “We felt like when he came and apologized, it was a perfect teachable moment. The kids really wanted to play for him.”
Initally Foggie, who previously coached at Park Center and Red Wing, thought he might walk away, but discovered he had “other options.”
“A lot of people are supporting me,” he said. “I grew up in the south, where my mother and father had to fight racism every day,” said the South Carolina native. “I feel like my reputation is on the line have to protect it. And I want to do it for the kids. That’s the whole reason I coach. They’re the ones who lose out here.”
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