Belleville football coach Jermain Crowell suspended through 2023 after MHSAA investigation
Defending Division 1 champion Belleville will be without head coach Jermain Crowell for the remainder of the state playoffs, as well as all of next season.
At least.
Van Buren Public Schools superintendent Pete Kudlak earlier this week told the Belleville-Area Independent the district is appealing the initial Michigan High School Athletic Association ruling that barred Crowell from coaching in the playoffs as well as the entire 2023 season.
The appeal to the MHSAA executive committee cannot be heard until after the playoffs.
Crowell was suspended by the school at the beginning of the playoffs after the MHSAA discovered at least two undue influence violations in a Free Press story on a Detroit King player.
Belleville was undefeated entering Friday’s Division 1 semifinal game against Detroit Cass Tech (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).
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Later, the MHSAA learned of a Crowell summer trip to Penn State for a 7-on-7 competition that violated 300-mile travel limit.
This is the second time this year Belleville’s football program has been under investigation and it is currently on probation.
In April, an assistant coach was found guilty of undue influence charges. The violation was self-reported and the MHSAA banned the assistant from coaching for four years, the maximum allowed under the undue influence rule.
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At the time of the initial suspension, Crowell denied the allegations.
Phone calls from the Free Press to Crowell, Kudlak and athletic director Joe Brodie were not immediately returned.
Crowell has been spotted at Belleville games, sitting in the stands.
This suspension may not be the end of Crowell’s troubles with the MHSAA.
“A few weeks ago, Belleville requested more time and more information,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said. “The investigation is still ongoing and we hope to have something to share early next week.”
The MHSAA could uncover more violations and Crowell’s penalty could be harsher.
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Rumors of Crowell, a former defensive coordinator at Cass Tech, violating MHSAA violations have surfaced many times before, given the meteoric rise of the program in his eight seasons.
The Tigers have made the playoffs each year under Crowell with an 84-10 record.
Belleville is a school of choice district, accepting students from many districts.
Kudlak told the Belleville-Area Independent that Crowell has a home in Van Buren Township, and he denied allegations Crowell had school of choice students living in his home.
Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1. Save $10 on his new book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” by ordering right now at McCabe.PictorialBook.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Belleville football's Jermain Crowell suspended through 2023
