Source: Michael Reaves / Getty
Teddy Bridgewater did the right thing after his 10-year NFL career, as he returned to his high school football team to help the next generation fulfill their dreams, but now he’s being penalized for it.
The one-time Pro Bowler has been fired from his head coaching job at his alma mater, Miami Northwestern Senior High School, for allegedly violating Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) rules regarding “impermissible benefits.”
According to Sports Illustrated, he reportedly spent $70,000 of his own money to ensure his players had what they needed throughout the season.
The staggering amount he spent on the boys wasn’t a secret and was something he shared on Facebook earlier this month when he asked for donations from the community to help pitch in so he’d “no longer have to take from my personal funds to keep smiles on these young men face and remind them that they matter.”
In the lengthy post, he discusses spending $700 a week on Uber rides, $1,500 a week on catered meals, $9,500 on pride uniforms, $14,000 on a training camp, and $1,300 a week on recovery trucks. So, he’s asking for the community to donate to the team through his Be Bridge Foundation.
He ends the message with, “These are all things I choose to do on my own and are not requirements for the boys to have according to the rule makers and those who make the decisions at MNW.”
Once Bridgewater was made aware of the suspension, he immediately took to social media, blaming Associate Head Coach Verne Louis. He also stated that a suspension is technically not possible because he’s not an actual employee of the school.
“Damn people done caused all this confusion. Got a phone call tonight and it’s no real investigation going on.. I told you I have to be an employee to be investigated. Now the paperwork thing still stands but there was no investigation… We SELF REPORTED,” he wrote on social media. “Verne and his Administrative homeboys want me gone apparently and tried to hire one of my dawgs like bro wasn’t gone lace me up… The suspension came from MNW and it’s impossible to suspend someone who doesn’t work for you. So if im suspended from MNW im free to go to another school of my choice but IM NOT GOING ANYWHERE.”
He also doesn’t plan on leaving the program, saying he’ll “volunteer from the bleachers like I used to in 2018 and 2019 when no one had a problem.”
Social media is upset that a rule intended to prevent wealthy schools from negatively influencing students is being enforced, despite Bridgewater’s intentions being pure.
See the reactions below.