Hip-hop mogul Master P is working to level the competition for historically black colleges. But for now his son Hershey Miller He transfers from Tennessee State University’s basketball program because he believes there is a lack of medical resources within the track and field department.
Master P named Percy Mirror said His son did not receive properly Hershey’s play career was almost over with medical procedures and improper diagnosis after a hip injury in the Tigers’ first match against Alabama A & M on November 9.
“Tennessee State University has a great program, great people, a love of culture, and just a lack of trainers,” said Master P. “We don’t have enough medical personnel to take care of what we need to take care of. We don’t have the technology that the Duke and all these major universities have. Such injuries could have been prevented. is.”
Master P told Tennessees on Tuesday that he did not blame TSU’s medical staff, but instead attributed the disparity in medical resources between major universities and HBCUs to the overall lack of funding.
Earlier this year, a legislative report by the Department of Legislative Budget Analysis estimated that TSU had been underfunded for many years with $ 544 million of land grants.
However, a TSU track and field official told Tennessee that the school’s sports medicine department, which includes seven full-time sports medicine employees, is not understaffed or underfunded compared to schools of that size. ..
“The problem isn’t that we’re totally out of money,” said Trevor Searcy, TSU Director of Sports Medicine. “It’s actually the opposite. The problem is that we’ve been growing since (athletic director Mikki Allen) came here, and when you grow, so does your facility.
Hershey Miller Injury Timeline
According to Master P, Hercy Miller was cleared by TSU’s medical staff to compete in the next match four days after the injury. Freshmen played for 9 minutes with Norfolk and 17 minutes for the next match against Fisk.
What you need to know: Three Things You Should Know About Tennessee Basketball Guard Hercy Miller
Master P continued to worry about Hershey’s injury, so TSU sent Hershey to the doctor. The doctor said he needed to rest for six months to heal the injury. Hershey was excluded during the November 30th season after averaging 10.2 minutes in six games.
After that, Master P received an expert evaluation of Hershey.
“Specialists said that if we didn’t wait any longer, we probably couldn’t play basketball anymore because the next ACL would disappear and all other types of injuries would occur,” said Master P. rice field.
“At that time, I said I needed to be aware of what was happening in all these HBCUs. I don’t have the resources and I’m out of money. To make this aware, all the HBCU programs Participate in, but his son’s career and his future. “
Master P said Hershey returned home and began rehabilitating the injury on Monday and could return to the Tigers if changes were made.
“If they get the right money and resources, and doctors and nutrition like all other state schools,” Master P said. “He loved coaches, loved school, loved Nashville, and my family loved Nashville.”
Comparison of TSU with other programs
Since its adoption in 2020, Allen has set the goal of improving TSU’s sports medicine staff. On Tuesday, he said he was happy with the progress he had made.
The staff works closely with Damon Petty, an orthopedic surgeon who is also a team doctor at the Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee and Vanderbilt University each have 37 staff, from directors to athletic trainers, rehabilitation specialists, and internships, although the size of the TSU onshore medical staff is inferior to that of major university programs. It is comparable to a school close to that size.
Austinpy, who attends the Ohio Valley Conference with TSU, has seven full-time sports medicine staff, including four full-time athletics trainers, two internships, and one graduate assistant. .. Austinpy also has a team doctor who participates in all home games.
There are 11 sports medicine staff in Middle Tennessee participating in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Six full-time certified athletic trainers and five certified graduate assistants.
“I’m definitely comfortable where we are in terms of what we look like now,” Allen said. “I always want to grow. There are always times when I have to evaluate the entire organization and say,” I need to tweak here from a HR perspective. ” But it’s all related to the sports program we serve and the number of children participating in our program, and I’m happy about it now. “
Allen said Master P was not discouraged from trying to support the HBCU program.
“What’s happening in the HBCU space, Master P was on another campus, but I can’t talk about it because it may not be visible here,” Allen said. “But we are the best in this space and will put us there at other conferences as we continue to grow and reach unprecedented heights, not just in this space. “
Transfer does not affect Hershey Miller’s NIL transaction
After signing with TSU, Hercy Miller has agreed to a $ 2 million name, image and portrait sponsorship deal with Web Apps America.
He was a three-star prospect who also said he had scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, LSU, UCLA, Southern Cal, Missouri, South Carolina, Arizona, and Georgetown.
Master P said Hershey’s NIL contract remains as long as he is a college athlete.
Contact MikeOrgan at 615-259-8021 or Twitter @ MikeOrganWriter.
This article was originally published in Nashville Tennessee: Master P’s son leaves Tennessee due to lack of resources