Longwood men's basketball senior Jeremiah Bowman was suspended from the program last Friday, Feb. 3, after violating the Lancers' student-athlete code of conduct policy. Athletics Director Troy Austin and head men's basketball coach Mike Gillian both spoke about the suspension, but didn't specify what exactly Bowman was suspended for.
"In this case, there was a violation of the student-athlete code of conduct policy," said Austin. "The first question people ask is what does that mean. It means a lot, in reality. It includes responsibilities about what they need to do in and out of the classroom and on the court. The policy encapsulates all the facets of being a student-athlete. You have to live to a level which represents Longwood well. We preserve their privacy and preserve their rights in being able to learn from the situation. We work to make sure we keep private the details of it."
The code of conduct policy is available in the Student-Athlete Handbook on the Longwood Athletics website. Athletes' conduct regarding alcohol and tobacco use, social networking, competitive behavior and class attendance are all listed.
Bowman and the rest of the team were told of the suspension before the announcement was made last Friday. Gillian clarified that the decision to suspend Bowman did not stem from an on-court incident or any incident related to athletics. "In Jeremiah's case, there was no recalcitrant behavior, nothing malicious, nothing harmful in any way. He made a mistake. And he made a mistake within those codes of conduct and what your responsibilities are," said Gillian. "It had absolutely nothing to do with anything that occurred on the court, in practice or with the team. He's done everything basketball-wise that we've asked him to do.
"One thing I can say is this: All the guys in the program understand what their responsibilities are. I talk to them about that all the time. It's a responsibility to the program, themselves, the athletic department and most importantly Longwood as a whole."
Gillian said right now the program is moving forward one step at a time and he could not answer if the decision would be appealed, reviewed or reversed. Austin echoed that, saying no timeline had been set up for that to be considered.
Gillian added that Bowman understood the situation when he was told about the suspension. "You put so much into playing that when you have anything like this happen it is devastating news. It is very difficult to deliver and hear that news," said Gillian.
Austin said when a situation like this comes to light he talks to everyone who would be affected in the specific program and the leadership within the department. "These decisions aren't made in terms of the collateral effect of whether student athletes will stand up and take notice. You look at the facts and you make a decision based off those facts. That's what we did here."
Bowman was a transfer to Longwood before the start of last season. He was a starting guard and was also the Lancers' second-leading scorer at 13.5 points. He led the team in assists with six per game.
