Florida Atlantic men’s basketball is changing some travel procedures following last week’s deadly shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
According to a report from Chuck King of Owl Access, Florida Atlantic head coach Michael Curry has implemented some new policies for his team to follow on road trips.
The changes were prompted following Friday’s shooting in the baggage claim area of Fort Lauderdale Airport’s Terminal 2 -- a terminal that Florida Atlantic men’s basketball uses frequently since they fly Delta, which flies out of that terminal. Suspect Esteban Santiago allegedly pulled a gun from his suitcase and opened fire on travelers waiting in baggage claim, killing five and wounding six more.
The team’s newly adjusted travel policies include keeping the players in the TSA-secured area for as long as possible while staff retrieves checked bags for the team bus. Players also aren’t allowed to wear headphones in the airport so they can be alert of activity going on around them.
“I think it’s the right thing to do but, as always, we talked about it on Monday, so that (the players) can talk to their families because I’m sure their families were going to have questions,” Curry said in the report.
So far, only the men’s basketball team at Florida Atlantic has made changes to team travel policy in light of the recent airport shooting. It’s hard to say if other programs within Florida Atlantic -- or elsewhere in college basketball -- will look to make travel changes but it’s certainly something worth exploring if it helps keep people safe.