Some of the expensive football equipment destroyed this weekend when a fire broke out at the field house used by Miami Edison High’s football will be replaced by the Miami Dolphins.
The field house, which contained a locker room and was used to store athletic equipment for the team coached by hip-hop legend Luther Campbell, burned down in the early afternoon on Sunday, while Campbell and numerous players were returning from a tour of nearby colleges.
The fire destroyed the team’s field equipment, blocking dummies, pads, sleds and down and yardage markers.
According to Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel, who knows Campbell through Campbell’s work as as a mentor and coordinator for youth athletics in South Florida for nearly three decades, the Dolphins and Baptist Health South Florida will team up to replace the lost equipment for the Miami-Dade County public school. The school is located in one of Miami’s poorest communities.
“The first thing that went through my mind was thank God our kids were on a college tour, and then the next thing was, as the leader and the coach I have to find some way to uplift these kids,” said Campbell, who is entering his second season as Edison’s head coach and hopes to build on a 3-7 season in 2018. “We have to go in there on Monday and deal with this new challenge.
Last week the Red Raiders football team buried Richecarde Dumay, a 17-year-old, who was one of three Edison students run over by a driver while waiting for their bus to attend a soccer tournament.
Now the team goes from one tragedy to another.
“I know everyday right now why the man upstairs sent me here," said Campbell, the former leader of rap group 2 Live Crew, which took a fight for freedom of speech in music all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won a judgement that led to parental advisory sticker being placed on music. “They are proud kids. Smart kids. We have kids that are practically homeless with a 2.9 GPA....
“When you see them in these types of situation. They aren’t looking for a handout. They just want to work their way through things.”
The fire investigators determined the fire was not intentionally set and classified the cause as undetermined. But it remains under investigation.
If you have any information about this fire that could help investigators call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. All calls can remain anonymous, and helpful tips may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
Campbell encouraged anyone who wants to help Edison recover from the fire to contact principal Leon Maycock at 305-751-7337.
Source: CBS 12