FIU Players Stage Walkout Protesting Thomas Firing

Hoops team stands up for dismissed coach Isiah Thomas

The FIU men's basketball team is not taking the dismissal of their head coach lightly. On Monday night, members of the team staged a walkout at the annual FIU Sports Banquet to protest the firing of coach Isiah Thomas.

FIU guard DeJuan Wright posted a video of the walkout on occurred (below) late Monday night. He said the walkout was not just in support of Thomas, but several members of his staff as well.

The walkout occured just as the master of ceremonies was about to introduce award winners for the current school year. The event continued as planned.

Thomas, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was fired on Friday after three losing seasons with the Golden Panthers. His record at FIU was 26-65, winning no more than 11 games in any season.

FIU has not commented publicly about Thomas’ firing since it was announced in a short statement. He had signed a five-year contract with the university in 2009 in a surprise move that included a clause granting him a large chunk of gross revenues from ticket sales, among other items.

FIU has not yet responded to a request for comment on the walkout from NBC 6.

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