UTEP Kicks Strong Off Team For Alleged Drug Violation; Strong Says Coach Violated NCAA Rules
Update: For UTEP men’s coach Tim Floyd’s response to Myron Strong’s dismissal and accusations, click here.
Texas-El Paso senior guard Myron Strong has been kicked off the basketball team for violating school and athletic department policies.
UTEP made the announcement Thursday and provided no additional details, but Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reporter Dan Wolken tweeted that he had spoken to UTEP coach Tim Floyd about Strong’s dismissal and it had to do with drugs.
“Spoke with Floyd, who went right back at Strong, said he was dismissed due to drug policy violation, noted his fourth school in 4 years,” Wolken’s tweet stated. Wolken is the University of Memphis men’s basketball beat writer for the Commercial Appeal.
Floyd’s response came after Strong wrote on his Facebook page about being kicked off the team.
“Yeah I’m not at utep anymore I know a lot of ppl wondering y, but the big question really should be how did tim floyd even get the job there? Wasn’t he just under investigation at USC? Well I’m hearing that he had a fake charity event to pay former player OJ Mayo $100,000 to play for him. How did the ncaa let that slide? I’m just saying….” Strong wrote on his Facebook status.
Strong elaborated on his departure in an email to ABC-7.
“Basically when barbee was there I had a dorm incident and couldn’t live in the dorms this school year which was fine because I wasn’t planning on staying in the dorms anyways. So when tim floyd came to utep he tested our team and some ppl failed but for some reason he made it seem like it was all my fault and that I was a bad person,” Strong said in the email. “He stereotyped me from day 1. Then a few weeks bck I was in the dorm(just there before class) and the police arrested a gurl in the dorm with weed that I knew. My name came up and she told them I had nothing to do with it which was true. Tim floyd had said even if my name came up in anything that I was out of there so I made sure that they knew I had nun to do wit it. But still he told me I violated by even being in the dorms and I didn’t know I couldn’t even be in the dorms. Tim floyd had already said that he had a guard he wanted to bring in so that had to be his reason to let me go. Really I don’t see how he even got the job when he broke ncaa rules at usc just two years back. He raised a fake charity event to pay a player to come to usc is what I’m hearing from my sources abd I’m sure its true.”
UTEP told ABC-7 Floyd was not available to comment at this time.
The NCAA did not attach any violations to Floyd when it released its findings and sanctions June 10 related to its USC investigation, according to an ESPN report. The NCAA report’s most damaging statement toward Floyd was that he sat in on a meeting with runner Rodney Guillory, who was pushing USC to recruit O.J. Mayo, and that the SC staff continued to recruit Mayo through Guillory even though they had “Googled” to find out that Guillory was identified as a “runner” for a sports agent in a case involving another NCAA member institution, according to ESPN.
Strong, a Memphis, Tenn., native played in all 33 games last season for the Miners. Strong averaged 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
Related Links:Link:UTEP Statement On USC Infractions Report; UTEP Coach Not Penalized
