Florida State star defensive lineman Marvin Wilson disputed that new Seminoles coach Mike Norvell reached out to players individually to discuss last week’s death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Wilson said he and his teammates would not be working out until further notice.
During an interview with Athletic reporter Tashan Reed earlier this week, Norvell reportedly said he “had a lot of open communication” with his players and “went back and forth individually with every player this weekend.”
“And that was something that was important to me because this is a heartbreaking time in our country,” Norvell said, according to The Athletic. “You see hate and you see discrimination. You see some of the acts that have occurred; I mean it’s a problem. And it’s something that we have to stand together and we have to work to get it fixed.”
In a post to Twitter early Thursday morning, Wilson disputed that Norvell had one-on-one discussions with players, and said FSU players only received a “generated” text from Norvell.
“This is a lie and me and my teammates as a whole are outraged and we will not be working out until further notice,” Wilson wrote.
Man this ? did not happen mane. 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 https://t.co/6Uuy6K7Eu3
— HEAD HUNCHO? (@marvinwilson21) June 4, 2020
Norvell and Wilson couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. An FSU spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ESPN on Thursday.
According to The Athletic, Norvell told Reed, “I’ll continue to share with our guys the platform that they have and the opportunity that is there for them to make a difference, to be an influence and to be able to impact our country in a positive way by the overall mindset and approach of how we treat people to how we respond in situations. I told these guys just how grateful I am to be a part of this journey with them because they are the future.”
Floyd, a black man, was killed last week in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd’s death sparked protests against police brutality throughout the country over the past several days.
FSU defensive end Jamarcus Chatman, offensive lineman Darius Washington and cornerback Isaiah Bolden shared Wilson’s tweet, as did Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas and Duke defensive end Drew Jordan.
FSU players returned to campus on Monday for voluntary workouts after a three-month absence because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Wilson, a senior from Houston, is the No. 9 prospect overall and No. 1 defensive tackle in ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s 2021 Big Board. Wilson had 8½ tackles for loss and five sacks in nine games before suffering a season-ending hand injury in the ninth game in 2019.
Florida State hired Norvell in December after he took Memphis to unprecedented heights in four seasons, including an American Athletic Conference championship and Cotton Bowl appearance this past season.
One of the youngest head coaches in the country when he took over at Memphis, Norvell, 38, replaced Willie Taggart at Florida State. FSU fired Taggart, who is black, nine games into his second season at FSU after his teams went 9-12 in his two seasons as coach.
