Howard 'taking swift action' to investigate potential verbal abuse in wake of allegations against Ron Prince
Howard University said in a statement on Wednesday that it’s “taking swift action” to investigate any allegations of verbal abuse or threats after allegations of improper treatment of football players by coach Ron Prince.
Prince is in his first year at Howard. HBCU Gameday published a story Tuesday citing the concerns of “several” unnamed parents of Howard players. The site even published an anonymous letter to the school’s administration from the parent of a football player.
The letter, in part, said that “Ron Prince has been threatening, hostile, abusive, and disrespectful of the young men and coaching staff at Howard University since his arrival. If a student displayed the same behavior towards another player, student, instructor, or person in the community he/she would be dealt with accordingly.”
It also said Prince had allegedly sent injured players home without treatment and had belittled injured players. In response to HBCU Gameday’s post, the university sent a statement to the site.
“Howard University does not tolerate verbal abuse or threats of any kind,” the statement said. “The safety and well-being of our students is of paramount importance and always our number one priority. We are taking swift action to understand and investigate the allegations pertaining to the treatment of student athletes on the football team.”
QB Caylin Newton, others transferring
Quarterback Caylin Newton, the brother of Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton and the 2018 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, announced he was transferring on Tuesday. He was one of four players who said this week that they were leaving the school.
Newton was Howard’s quarterback when the Bison pulled the biggest point-spread upset in sports betting history with a 2017 win over UNLV.
Howard is 1-4 this season and plays Harvard on Saturday. Three of those four losses have been by more than 20 points.
Prince is former K-State, NFL coach
Prince was hired at Howard in December and also serves as the team’s offensive coordinator. He came to the Bison after spending a season at Michigan as an analyst following his firing from the Detroit Lions.
Prince spent four seasons with the Lions. He’s most-known in the college football world for being the bridge between the first and second stints of Kansas State coach Bill Snyder. Prince was hired to replace Snyder the first time Kansas State’s winningest coach retired after the first season. He was 17-20 in three seasons with the Wildcats and fired after a second-straight 5-7 season in 2008. That firing paved the way for Snyder to return as the team’s coach in 2009 before he retired a second time after the 2018 season and was replaced by Chris Klieman.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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