Basketball: Private school CEO admits to vulgar rant against player
Mike Woodbury, CEO of the private school Nation Christian Academy in Florida, took responsibility for his profane tirade against basketball player Marvens Petion that was posted to YouTube on Tuesday.
In the audio recording of the expletive-laced rant that quickly went
viral over social media, Woodbury was upset because Petion wanted to transfer.
Woodbury told him, "I control everything" and "I'm going to end everything you've ever had." He also threatened to send Petion and "back to Haiti" — where he was born.
“I did that. I own that 100 percent,” Woodbury
told the website Stadium on Wednesday morning, noting that only three minutes of an extended conversation were released.
Woodbury said he had no regrets over the argument but did regret "the fact that I tried to be a father figure" to Petion, who moved into Woodbury's home when he was 15, along with other athletes, according to Stadium
.
Woodbury also issued a separate statement
apologizing for swearing, adding, "there are two sides to every story."
"This conversation did not take place at school, I do not coach the team," Woodbury wrote. "The comment about 'returning to Haiti' was not a threat but to make the student aware that his criminal behavior would risk him being sent."
While he did not refer to Petion by name, Woodbury claimed a player had alcohol in his room and stole from the academy. Petion denied those allegations in
an interview with Stadium.
Petion told Stadium that he is enrolled at West Oaks Academy in Florida and has been recruited by mid-major Division I programs McNeese State and Louisiana Tech.
Prep School CEO Goes on Profanity-Laced Tirade, Threatens Basketball Player - Stadium
Woodbury made several accusations to Stadium regarding Petion, including finding alcohol in the player’s room, incidents of theft and alleged attempts to extort school leadership. Woodbury said the final straw was Petion skipping school.
When reached Wednesday morning, Petion – who came over from Haiti when he was 15 and was one of a half-dozen or so players who stayed at Woodbury’s house – denied all of those allegations. Petion told Stadium he didn’t have any alcohol, didn’t steal, has missed just one day of school this year and wasn’t trying to extort anyone.
Petion said he and a teammate found a damaging conversation between Woodbury and another woman that prompted him to go to head of school Liz Bell and ask for his release to transfer elsewhere.
“I’ve already had two schools close down on me,” said Petion, who previously attended a pair of prep schools in Kansas. “I was afraid this one would be shut down also, so I wanted to get out of there.”
Petion told Stadium that he left the school two days after the taped conversation – which took place about two weeks ago – and is now enrolled at West Oaks Academy, which is also located in Florida.
Petion received his transcripts on Tuesday and was shocked to discover that he had a 1.4 grade point average.
“He changed everything,” Petion said. “He changed what I did.”
Woodbury denied changing the transcript, and said he doesn’t have administrative capabilities. Bell told Stadium there was an “error in calculation,” and Petion had a B average in his time at Nation Christian Academy.
Petion said he is being recruited by McNeese State, Louisiana Tech and other primarily mid-major schools.
“That’s not the first time he threatened to send me back to Haiti,” Petion said. “He did that in a game when I wasn’t playing well. He told me he was going to cancel my visa in the middle of the game. What kind of person does that?”