Scott Gleeson, USA Today
Mike Woodbury, CEO of the private school Nation Christian Academy in Port St. Lucie, Florida, took responsibility for his profane tirade against basketball player Marvens Petion that was posted to YouTube on Tuesday.
In the audio recording of the expletive-laced rant that quickly went viral over social media, Woodbury was upset because Petion wanted to transfer.
Woodbury told him, "I control everything" and "I'm going to end everything you've ever had." He also threatened to send Petion and "back to Haiti" — where he was born.
“I did that. I own that 100 percent,” Woodbury told the website Stadium on Wednesday morning, noting that only three minutes of an extended conversation were released.
Woodbury said he had no regrets over the argument but did regret "the fact that I tried to be a father figure" to Petion, who moved into Woodbury's home when he was 15, along with other athletes, according to Stadium.
Woodbury also issued a separate statement apologizing for swearing, adding, "there are two sides to every story."
"This conversation did not take place at school, I do not coach the team," Woodbury wrote. "The comment about 'returning to Haiti' was not a threat but to make the student aware that his criminal behavior would risk him being sent."
While he did not refer to Petion by name, Woodbury claimed a player had alcohol in his room and stole from the academy. Petion denied those allegations in an interview with Stadium.
Petion told Stadium that he is enrolled at West Oaks Academy in Florida and has been recruited by mid-major Division I programs McNeese State and Louisiana Tech.
NCAA players often attend a year of college prep school after high school to prepare for the next level — for athletic or academic reasons. Prep schools can be public, private independent or parochial. The Nation Christian Academy features a middle school, high school and post-graduate program and has been a member of the Association of Christian Schools International and the Florida Association of Christian Colleges of Schools, according to its official website.
To promote the post-graduate college prep program, the school website shows photos of Woodbury shaking hands with Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall and Illinois State coach Dan Muller.
In a statement obtained by Stadium from the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association, a private school league within the state of Florida, the SIAA announced it was parting ways with Nation Christian Academy.
