High School

Fort Myers football coach under investigation for alleged racial slurs

A Facebook post by a Lee County Board Member revealed details of the incident earlier this week

Gary Adornato

The Fort Myers football program is in turmoil after a Lee County board member made a Facebook post stating that an assistant football coach was "removed" after an alleged racial slur.
The Fort Myers football program is in turmoil after a Lee County board member made a Facebook post stating that an assistant football coach was "removed" after an alleged racial slur. / Ricardo Rolon / USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to a Facebook post by Lee County (Florida) board member Joe Phipps, earlier this week, Fort Myers High assistant football coach Mike Durgin has been removed from the team for alleged racial slurs made towards team members.

Posted under the heading FMHS: High School Football News, Phipps wrote, "Coach Sammy Sirianni removed Coach Mike Durgin today as per district employees because he called the football players, “Hood Rats and N******."

WINK News is reporting that a Lee County School District spokesperson confirmed the existence of an investigation but offered no further comment. The station than contacted every member of the school board, but reached only one, who had no comment.

The station also reported the Lee County School District had a civil rights lawsuit filed against it, in February, alleging acts of racism by the Fort Myers baseball team.

Published
Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

Home/Florida