One of the remaining teammates from FAMU’s Bowling Team has come forward regarding allegations that former Top Bowler, Shamoria Johnson was kicked off the team to study.
FAMU Bowler, Eva Holmes says lies are being spread around the bowler’s dismissal and that some of the events detailed does not give a full picture. Holmes posted a note on her Instagram Story, stating that some members of the FAMU bowling team made their minds up not to respect Howard, who graduated from Jackson State in 2021.
She also stated Howard was “called names and disrespected prior to the dismissal” of Jones and voluntary quitting of others, after taking over the program in August. FAMU did not have a full-time, salaried coach the previous season.
“However, the reasoning behind it all is not accurate as certain individuals’ roles are being downplayed to portray the victim,” Holmes wrote.
“On several different occasions there were very disrespectful emails sent from player to coach with all of us cc’d as an audience to bear witness. From the very beginning, minds were made up that no one was going to respect the coach. Yes, we have a young head coach but so do various other sports across the country. It is not impossible for a program to function with such new leadership (look at UNC Women’s Field Hockey).”
As we previously reported, last Wednesday, former Rattlers bowler Shamoria Johnson posted an Instagram reel announcing her and teammates departing the team, due to differences with first-year head coach Capri Howard.
The Instagram post has attracted over 200,000 viewers.
VP of Intercollegiate Athletics, Tiffani-Dawn B. Sykes released a statement via Twitter this past Saturday afternoon.
“In December 2023, Coach Howard dismissed a student-athlete from the bowling team for reasons supported by NCAA Bylaws,” VP Sykes said. “Though it’s always challenging to see our student-athletes dismissed, I support the decision by Coach Howard as the proper procedures were taken before the dismissal.”
Holmes expressed her frustration at being constantly sent video that — according to her — only tell part of the story and have a real impact on her and others. She confirmed that Johnson did send an email, but that the tone of her email was unacceptable.
“Without a chance to even begin shaping the future of our program, our coach was called names & disrespected regardless of her Head Coach status. This clearly reached a breaking point when the final, EXTREMELY disrespectful email was sent.
“There’s sides to every story and I have no reason to lie. That’s not who I am, nor who I ever will be. I cannot idly sit back and watch lies be spread to hundreds of thousands of people. Words have power and feeding into things like this without even trying to understand the entirety of the situation is terrifying.
“Be kind to people, think before you speak, and take the time to grow personally,” she wrote. “It’ll change your life I promise.”
No additional word or statement from Johnson has been made as of yet.
