A viral TikTok by a Florida A&M student-athlete has caused quite a stir on social media. Rattler bowling team member Shamoria Johnson took to her TikTok account to allege that she was kicked off the bowling team due to a desire to study for final exams. In the video, she put up text captions describing what occurred with videos of her bowling in the background.

The text captions in the video read:

“Most people don't even know our school has a bowling team on scholarship! It's unsurprising that most also don't know that nearly the entire starting team has had their scholarships revoked and are no longer on the roster.

On Nov. 19, I was titled MVP and conference player of the week… Less than two weeks later, I replied to my coaches, prioritizing my studies during dead/finals week over practice. On Dec. 1, with 30 minutes remaining in practice, I was pulled aside by the coach and dismissed from the team. I was called disrespectful for replying to the email and my energy was deemed a cancer to the team. My teammates walked out of practice in solidarity with me. Unfortunately, that very act caused their scholarships to be revoked. Unable to afford attending the institution without athletic aid, one transferred and the others simply dropped out.

Now, without even a discussion of these events that have occurred in the final weeks of the fall semester, the head coach has garnered an entire new team of walk-ons to take to the conference round-up. It's sad because I was still thinking somehow my girls and I could have one more champs together… But I realize now that that's not happening.”

The story was first reported by prominent HBCU media personality Scottay of Offscript TV and Roland Martin then interviewed Johnson on his news program #RolandMartinUnfiltered.

In the interview with Martin, Johnson further clarified her story and emphasized that she didn't get a response back from head bowling coach Capri Howard.

“I got no response back I didn’t get a text message back and instead she sent us an email where she was stating that we needed to manage our time better. And being a student-athlete, we should be able to balance our school work and our academic work. So having homework or studying is not an excuse to miss practice. I ended the email saying that I would prioritize my academics as a student-athlete. And I also referenced one of the rules from the women’s bowling team, rules where it stated that being a student is the priority. That was the only bolded rule on the rule sheet, and I didn’t get a response to that email either.”

She also said in the interview on #RolandMartinUnfiltered that she was dismissed from the team with assistant AD Breon Hagans in attendance at the practice. She also reemphasized that Howard said that her follow-up email was disrespectful and that her energy was “a cancer to the team”.

“Capri said that I have been disrespectful all season and that my last email was entirely disrespectful, that she no longer wishes to work with me because my energy is a cancer to the team,”

However, when Martin asked Johnson if there had been documentation that she'd had issues with Howard over the course of the season, she spoke of a time in which spoke up about things thought the season that she believed weren't right.

“I believe what she was referring to as me as a cancer to the team is that I am very outspoken. I've been taught from a young age that my voice matters and my opinion matters, and it will not be heard unless I use it. I've also been taught that people can take advantage of you if you do not use your voice. Throughout the semester, there have been a variety of incidents that have occurred within our team that have been concerning to me, my teammates, and our parents. These concerns have gone unaddressed by the athletic department and by Coach Howard herself.

She continued, “Specifically, in the past, I had another email situation with her. She made a rule about not allowing us to sit down at any time during competition. If you aren't aware, collegiate bowling competitions can last around 8 hours without official breaks. We only get three minutes of transition time in between matches. During those three minutes, we are allowed to sit, drink water, refuel ourselves with food, and so on. However, Coach Howard decided that we were not allowed to sit down anymore, claiming that we needed to boost our endurance and show that we were athletic enough. It's only three minutes, but she made it clear that we should be standing for the rest of the time. None of my teammates felt comfortable with that decision.”

Johnson says that she is still enrolled at Florida A&M as an English major with a 3.7 GPA and that she wants to stay at the institution. She also is a decorated bowler for Florida A&M, being named the Southwestern Athletic Conference's Bowler of the Week during the season.

Since the coverage by Scottay of Offscript TV and Johnson's interview on #RolandMartinUnfiltered, Florida A&M Director of Athletic Director Tiffani Dawn-Sykes has released a statement about the incident.

“In December 2023, Coach Howard dismissed a student-athlete from the bowling team for reasons supported by NCAA Bylaws. Though it's always challenging to see our student-athletes dismissed, I support the decision by Coach Howard as the proper procedures were taken before the dismissal. All of the former members of the bowling team have been awarded their athletics aid for the remainder of the academic year.”