I must publicly thank him for both his time and for his gracious words of support conveyed to me about my situation at SUNY- Binghamton.
Read the letter here:
NAACP BROOME- TIOGA LETTER to Chancellor Zimpher in Support of Kevin Broadus (PDF)
Read the full article:
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20105060326
I personally want to Thank You for all you have done for my daughter K….. As you are very well aware of, K…. is a shy girl and she is very picky about who she likes, especially when it comes to men since her father is not around. K…. has liked you from the very start. She remembers you always telling her “We are going to work on you not being so shy.” As well as “Good ball players are never shy.” She does look up to you. I appreciate the fact you always made time for her, even if it just a few minutes. K…. goes out to the driveway and practices her shooting and remembers you telling the kids at camp “practice makes permanent.” Even when you might think you are NOT impacting a child, you are and I am grateful you impacted my daughter in such a positive way.
I am sad to see and hear such negativity surrounding this whole incident and how you are being treated. I see a side of you which is mentioned above, you truly care about the kids. You always asked K…. about school, her grades and if she was listening to her mother before you even asked how basketball was going. That to me, as a parent shows what a real coach is about. Keep your head up Coach.
Amy and K….
As a retired Binghamton University staff member, a season ticket holder and a long time BU basketball fan (think games being played in West Gym) I would like to offer my support for Coach Broadus. I am distressed about how little information there has been to defend him and how much inflammatory press there has been against him. I believe that Coach has been unfairly treated. I am delighted to see his website finally offer more of his side of the story and that he is finally defending himself. The support letters from Fr. Corey Van Kuren on the website more eloquently express the issues than I ever could. I agree with Father Corey in his viewpoints. If there is any substantial way that I can offer my support to Coach Broadus I would be happy to help. I look forward to seeing Coach Broadus back in charge of his team with many more years of good basketball at Binghamton. What a team Coach Broadus and Assistant Coach Macon could field! That is if Coach Broadus would ever agree to stay with a system that has treated him the way that Binghamton University and SUNY has.
Ellen Haley
Director of Alumni and Development Information Services (RET)
Binghamton University Foundation
I have known Kevin Broadus since I was in the 10th grade of high school when he was recruiting an upper class man on my team that year. I remember him telling me then “hey you could be good if you keep working” and that is exactly what I did, I played myself into becoming a Division 1 recruit and here came Coach Broadus now at American University. I had my mind set on getting away from the DC area, and that is what I did. I went to an out of state school where I had some success but wasn’t really happy so when my school played American, Kevin approached me and we began to talk. I was shocked that he even remembered me but he took interest in my well being, we talked about life, how I was doing in school, and he really wanted to know about my family. Our discussion wasn’t even about basketball, it was like i was talking to an older brother. He really made it easy to open up and just talk. That conversation really stuck with me because he didn’t have to take the time to talk to a kid that told him no during the recruiting process. When I was looking to transfer schools it was a no brainer where I was going. I wanted to be where he was coaching, I wanted to be there so much I gave up scholarship offers to come to American as a walk-on.
I will always be grateful to Coach Kevin for being there for me when my father had passed away. I hadn’t been in contact with him for a while and I didn’t know how he knew but he was there to show his support to me and my family during one of our toughest time. Coach Kevin is a man that cares about his players, and the feeling is mutual. Myself along with countless other players he has come in contact with felt that he truly cares about us and that is why we went to the schools he was coaching. This was apparent when Binghamton received their spot in the NCAA tournament last year and the embraces Coach Kevin received from his players. The love those guys had for him and the love he had for those guys just came through your tv screen. Coach Kevin is a wonderful man that believes in all kids from all different backgrounds, he has my support and gratitude for ever. Because of him I am able to call myself a college graduate, I was allowed to have a wonderful college basketball career and now a standard to live up to when I become a college coach.
Coach Kevin, I am behind you 100%. I wish you and your family the best during this tough time, but know that you have a huge group of former players with you. You have touched my life and so many more over the years. You will come out on top I really believe that.
Steve Miles
Kevin,
I had to reach out to you, sorry to see you going through this ordeal.
You are a good man and great coach, I had a lot of good times/memories with you and Freddy B back in the day.
Stay true to yourself and your beliefs!
You have a big fan supporting and praying for you in PA.
Best of luck and health to you and your family.
You WILL be back on the sidelines coaching soon.
God Bless,
Rich Mills
I am an alumnae of The American University (BA Justice ’01) during the time that Coach Broadus was an Assistant Coach with the Men’s Basketball team.
After I graduated from American University and decided to pursue graduate studies, I called on Kevin for a letter of recommendation and he was more than willing to write a stellar letter on my behalf. Kevin and I have remained in touch over the years and I was never more proud than when he was named the head coach for SUNY – Binghamton. While I was sad to see the Broadus family pack up and head to the Empire State, I knew this was a golden opportunity for Kevin to showcase not only his recruiting skills but his love and pure knowledge of the game of basketball and to impart that wisdom to a new group of young men.
I saw firsthand how much Kevin Broadus cares for his players. He would go above and beyond to help them succeed in any way he could. The players always found him easy to relate to because he never once thought he was better than them or that they couldn’t succeed no matter their background. Of the players that Kevin recruited that came into American with me, an overwhelming majority have graduated, pursued post-graduate degrees, and have gone on to become active men in their respective communities.
Now that I am a mother of a young son, I can only hope that one day he is fortunate enough to come across a coach like Kevin Broadus. A coach that doesn’t just care about succeeding in a game, but cares about having his players succeeding in life. Kevin ALWAYS stressed academics to his players and the importance of not squandering the opportunity that had been given to them.
While I understand fully the nature of the charges being levied against Kevin, I can honestly say that he would never act outside the interest of the University, the NCAA, his family, and his players.
Kevin, I support you, I salute you, and I can only hope and pray that you come out of this ordeal on top.
Sincerely,
M. Lynn
Click here to read the full article:
Viewpoint – Fr Corey Van Kuren (PDF)
I am the Catholic Chaplain at Newman House, the Catholic Church at Binghamton University, and as such, not affiliated with the University but employed by the Diocese of Syracuse. However, I am a staunch supporter of the University and its Athletic Program.
I was already amazed how the University got conned by Judge Judith Kaye who was hired for approx. a million dollars to investigate our Athletic Program, in particular the 2009 Basketball team. It seemed to me that it lacked clarity, due process and naiveté (e.g. because a conversation appears on a cell phone does not mean that in fact an illegal action occurred, accusers never have to face the accused or prove any statement made, self reported minor infractions are not generally dealt with through suspensions).
Now the school, fearing distractions(?), has self imposed withdrawal from our America East Championship Tournament. More amazement and confusion! Let’s see….because some administrators and coaches MAY have been involved in wrongdoing, because some student-athletes MAY, of their own accord acted improperly and MAYBE illegally, and because we have do SOMETHING to move forward (?) from THE REPORT, we will, fearing “distractions,” punish the coaches and players left behind, who conducted themselves with talent, heart, professionalism and represented the University with grace and hard work on and off the court. And we will rob the faithful fans who continued to fill the seats and support the program and the athletes, and who disregarded the media babble and constant rantings of outside sources (NY Times, ESPN, etc) because they saw that this team deserved support regardless of last year’s team. Thanks for the support of the community? Nah!
In all of this, it seems one important thing is lacking……Justice! No justice is evident in the concocted Report, no justice is evident in any of the University’s responses so far, and there certainly is no justice shown student athletes of this year’s basketball team.
Put the drive for a Law School at Binghamton University on the back burner. Such a reality would suppose that Justice is a coveted virtue at the University. It seems to me that the University has a ways to go before that is a reality.
To the players and coaches presently, near and far, hang in there! Your still defending Champions to many of us in the community and the winner of this year’s tournament have their championship marred by not having to face you. I hope all of you will be with us to defend next year. In the meantime, maybe the University will be seeking the definition and practice of Justice in their behavior.
