UK Hoops All SEC point guard MaKayla Epps has been suspended by Coach Matthew Mitchell for an alcohol related arrest which happened in early April around her hometown of Lebanon, Kentucky.
Mitchell spoke about the incident and the repercussions today in a media availability.
“One of our current players as you all heard or reported last week, Makayla Epps, had some transgressions surrounding alcohol back home in Marion County last week. It was reported back in April when the incident happened, so that was very unfortunate for our program and it did not reflect well on our program and did not reflect well on Makayla.”
“She feels really badly about that, and so we have suspended Makayla from the team. She will have to hit some very strenuous and strict guidelines to be reinstated to the team and it is up to her now to make that happen. I think Makayla has a very good heart, but her decision making is questionable. It’s my job as someone important in her life and someone who loves her, cares about her and has great concern for her well-being and her future to now give her the structure and the well-being that she needs so she can become a great decision maker and not make the decisions she made back in April. We will work very hard to support her as she seeks reinstatement back into the team.”
“I’m not going to get into the specifics of the suspension and what she has to do. It will include at least a one-game suspension at the beginning of the season, and it will be up to Makayla to see how she progresses through the suspension to see if further games are added or not. It will be a great opportunity for her to grow as a person and that’s what I’m going to try and do for her as a person.
He also spoke about what she has to do to get reinstated.
“Right now, she has to work individually on her decision-making and her strength in that area. She won’t be involved in any team activities as long as that takes. I’ve got a plan of what she needs to do. This is really about so much more than a punishment. This is about trying to help her develop as a person and really trying to strengthen her ability to make good decisions. That’s really what we all are. We are just a sum total of our decision making day after day. When you are a young person, and you are lacking in that ability, I think you need some help and some guidance.”
“People have to know that young people dealing with alcohol rarely ends well. It just was a bad, bad decision. We stress that all the time with our players about how that can impact you negatively in just so many ways. There’s just no good that can come from it if you’re a young person. It’s more about trying to help her avoid any type of bad decision in the future, and that’s going to help make her be a better decision-maker and a better person.”
“We have all seen her immense basketball talents, and we’ve all seen that hard work translate her into a better basketball player, so we are just going to spend a lot of time helping her there. I love Makayla. I love her heart. I love who she can become and we are going to work hard to help her realize her potential.”
I respect Coach Mitchell and his love for his players. Lets hope Makayla straightens up and gets passed this “college kid” mistake.
