Secret in a Locker Room Fact Sheet

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St. Louis Archers 

The Dome at America’s Center

701 Convention Plaza

St. Louis, MO 63101

@StLouisArchers

stlouis@scomfc.com

Director of Personnel: Jay Chapman

Cell Phone: 678-999-8212

Fact Sheet

The Basics

  • Aaron Jones was a third-string running back for the St. Louis Archers
  • Aaron Jones was dismissed from the St. Louis Archers on September 25th, 2018
  • Mr. Jones has since been picked up by the Austin Rockets
  • A video recorded at a popular St. Louis bar by an observer was posted on YouTube Friday, October 26th
    • In the aforementioned video, Mr. Jones was confiding his friend and previous teammate from the University of Texas in El Paso, Jaquan White

The Altercation

  • Mr. Jones told Mr. White about an altercation that took place following the week 3 home game against the Omaha Goldenrod. In the locker room, Mr. Jones was complaining about not getting enough opportunities and expressing frustration as to his lack of playing time.
    • Running back coach Landry Ritchie overheard this and is quoted as jokingly saying “Hey, you’ve got your chance and blew it in week 1,” in regards to Mr. Jones inability to convert a 3rd and goal situation in that game.
  • This joke turned into a brawl and ended up as a locker room fight
    • There have been discrepancies as to the intensity of this altercation, causing an investigation to be launched

The Investigation

  • Following our investigation, interviews with players, coaches and staff, we have determined there was a small brawl that took place between coach Ritchie and Mr. Jones following a joke made by coach Ritchie to Mr. Jones
    • The altercation had no punches thrown, injuries reported or arrests made
  • This altercation took place September 8th, it is currently November 6th
  • St. Louis Archers president Ethan Pelino has stated he was not aware of the brawl before the video surfaced

 

The Decision

  • The altercation had no influence on the St. Louis Archers decision to dismiss him from the team
  • As a third-string running back who wanted more playing time, the Archers made the decision to dismiss him to allow Mr. Jones to find a team where he could get more playing time
  • The Archers understand the confusion and suspicion surrounding the situation
  • The team has created a new mandatory conflict resolution program that all coaching staff and players and employees of the team must complete upon hiring
    • Those already on the team will have until 12/31/2018 to complete the program
  • A new round table discussion will be implemented on a weekly basis to allow players and coaches to voice their concerns before each week
  • The lack of notification to the team president furthers the implication that the locker room “brawl” was not serious, however, the Archers have implemented a new policy that all upper level management will be notified of any unusual activity, regardless of the seriousness of the incident