Rep. Ray Garofalo
The ongoing controversy involving House Education Chairman Ray Garofalo, whose comments about slavery ignited a firestorm, resulted in Wednesday’s meeting of the House Education Committee being called off. The committee was set to discuss legislation allowing student-athletes to profit off of their name, image, or likeness.
Garofalo spoke with LRN and said last week he assumed he was out as Chairman, but never received official communication telling him that he was removed and noted that his name was still listed as Chairman under the Legislative system and in the meeting announcements. Garofalo said due to this lack of clarity Wednesday morning before the committee he spoke with Speaker Clay Schexnayder who told him he was still Chairman, but when he told Shexnayder he was going to sit as chair at that morning’s meeting, Schexnayder said, “no you’re not”.
“Well either I’m your Chairman or I’m not. You are making me look bad if you have me listed as Chairman, it’s embarrassing for me and it is humiliating for me if you have me listed as Chairman but you won’t let me do the job that you appointed me to,” said Garofalo.
Garofalo said the discussion with Shexnayder then took a turn.
“At one point he threatened to have me removed from the building if I went and sat in the chair and then he said well, I’m just going to cancel the meeting. Things got a little heated,” said Garofalo. “I just went up to do my duty.”
When asked by a reporter if the “heated” meeting with Shexnayder got physical Garofalo declined to comment.
The committee meeting was called off after about 45 minutes when only one member sat, that being Houma Representative Beryl Amedee. That delayed discussion of the student-athlete endorsement legislation to next week’s meeting leaving lawmakers just a week to pass the bill before the session ends.
“It is a travesty to the authors of those bills of the good legislation that should be reported that whatever game that was being played today was being played and their legislation had to suffer for that,” said Garofalo.
Garofalo’s comments late last month in committee calling for the teaching of “the good, the bad, the ugly” of slavery during a tense debate about education policy resulted in the Legislative Black Caucus demanding Garofalo be removed as chairman. Garofalo said his words have been taken “out of context” and he has nothing to apologize for.
Schexnayder has not commented on the discussion with Garofalo, nor has he made any public comments about the calls for Garofalo’s ouster as chair or the calls for Garofalo’s removal.
Comments