Towson University guard Tamir Goodman apparently won't play again for the Tigers unless there is a coaching change.
According to Goodman's father, Karl, the sophomore met with Towson athletic director Dr. Wayne Edwards yesterday for two hours and told him "he wasn't quitting the team, but he's not going to play for [coach Michael] Hunt."
"That's Tamir-talk for I'm not playing," Karl Goodman said. "He doesn't want to let his teammates down and he appreciates everything they've done for him."
Tamir Goodman originally filed a complaint to the Towson University police department Saturday night against Hunt concerning a locker room incident after the Tigers' 67-62 win over Morgan State that night. The Towson police investigated and turned over its report to the State's Attorney's Office of Baltimore County on Monday. But the Goodman family dropped the complaint on Tuesday, hoping the matter could be resolved at the university level .
The Towson athletic department began an internal review yesterday and said it will not comment until its completion, which could come as early as today.
Goodman practiced with the team Sunday and Monday, but got written permission from Edwards stating he did not have to attend the Tigers' game at UMES on Tuesday, which they lost, 93-78.
With exams approaching and its next game not scheduled until Dec. 20, the team had off from practice yesterday. The team resumes practice at 6 p.m. tonight , and it's unclear whether Goodman will be there. Tamir Goodman was reached yesterday, but said he was told he could not comment. He did verify he had a productive meeting with Edwards. Hunt, a first-year coach, has said he won't comment until the matter is resolved.
Karl Goodman said, aside from some typical philosophical basketball differences over the course of the early season, his son and Hunt had no previous problems of the physical nature that the younger Goodman said took place on Saturday.
From his son's account, the elder Goodman said that after the game Hunt screamed at his son, held a chair over his head in a threatening manner, and kicked a stool that hit him in the shin. Hunt was upset because Tamir was smiling while on the bench during the course of the game, Karl Goodman said. Tamir was not injured.
According to Karl Goodman, Edwards will let the family know in the next couple days whether the school will allow the younger Goodman to keep his scholarship for the remainder of the school year even if he doesn't play. The elder Goodman added his son would like to transfer to another Division I school, perhaps in New York, which he called "a great comfort zone" for his son and where "he could pursue his religion openly."
Tamir Goodman, an Orthodox Jew who attended Talmudical Academy and Takoma Academy, chose Towson after an early agreement to attend Maryland fell through. He started 23 games last year and averaged 26.4 minutes under then-coach Mike Jaskulski, who was fired and replaced by Hunt. This season for the 3-5 Tigers, Goodman has averaged only 11.6 minutes without a start, and his minutes have steadily declined in his last couple appearances.
Should Goodman decide to transfer and play for another Division I program, he would have to sit out one year and have two years of eligibility remaining.
