HHS Football Coach ‘Indefinitely Suspended’ But Game Will Go On

By Ian Perrotta

Review Staffwriter

The Cosmos (0-5, 0-2) may have lost last Friday’s homecoming game against Harper Woods 48-14, but this week it was the action off the field that had everyone talking: Head Coach Tarif Kumasi was suspended.

Last week, a self-initiated investigation by the Hamtramck Public Schools discovered that a player on the Cosmos football team was ineligible because of enrollment issues. What initially appeared to be an innocent mistake has now led to an ongoing investigation regarding player eligibility of the entire team.

On Tuesday of this week, Superintendent of Hamtramck Public Schools Thomas Niczay sent out a message informing the district of the suspension. Because of the nature of the investigation, nothing more could be said other than the fact that the Hamtramck Board of Education will take further action at their next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 14. Niczay said the coach is suspended indefinitely.

So what does this mean for the rest of the season? As of Thursday at press time, tonight’s game at Ecorse was still scheduled to be played. But if the investigation unearths more irregularities, the rest of the season could be in jeopardy.

The timing couldn’t be worse, either. Hamtramck was on the verge of its first winning season in recent memory, and even people outside of the city were starting to take notice. One such person was Cleophus Bradley, a Detroiter with a passion for high school football. After attending different games at different stadiums for years, he was thoroughly impressed with what he saw in Hamtramck.

“The team is as diverse as the city, and the stadium is one of the best in the area,” he said. “I haven’t seen the stands look like this anywhere else. They even have a student cheering section along with the cheerleaders. It’s great.”

Hopefully, he’ll have a reason to come back.