4 minSports
Maryland Police Questioned Two Student Reporters Covering Locksley Firing Outside Football Facility
Two University of Maryland student journalists were approached by campus police and asked to leave while waiting outside Jones-Hill House to interview players after coach Mike Locksley's dismissal. The school said heightened security concerns prompted the call and that it respects journalists' First Amendment rights.
Two University of Maryland student reporters covering the dismissal of football coach Mike Locksley were approached by campus police and asked to leave while waiting outside the team's football facility, an encounter the school attributed to heightened security concerns around the program.
The journalists, Nolan Rogalski of the SB Nation site Testudo Times and Jude Wilkenfeld, were standing outside Jones-Hill House on Wednesday hoping to speak with players leaving the building after learning of Locksley's departure. According to Rogalski's account on social media, an athletics staff member photographed the two and a police dispatch was called for what was described as suspicious activity. A police officer and two police vehicles arrived, the reporters were identified, and officers asked them to leave.
Maryland announced Wednesday that it was parting with Locksley after five consecutive losses, describing the decision as a mutual agreement between the two sides. The Terrapins had scheduled a morning team meeting, but news of the change had already broken through multiple outlets before players gathered, leaving reporters to seek reaction outside the facility as players arrived for an explanation from athletic department leadership.
Defensive coordinator Aazaar Abdul-Rahim will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season while the department searches for a permanent replacement. Locksley took over the program in 2019 and compiled a record of 38-49 in his tenure, according to Yardbarker.
The University of Maryland Police Department recorded the names of Rogalski and Wilkenfeld but said no report was filed about the incident. In a joint statement issued Wednesday evening, the school and the police department said they respect the First Amendment rights of journalists, while citing increased security around athletics facilities in recent weeks.
«UMPD was contacted today, Oct. 21, 2026, about two individuals who were standing outside of Jones Hill House,» the statement said. «Due to heightened concerns for staff and player safety around the football program in recent weeks, there has been increased security around athletics facilities. A UMPD officer approached the two individuals, learned they were with a campus media organization, recorded student IDs, and no report was taken.» The statement added that both the police department and Maryland Athletics respect the rights of all journalists reporting in public spaces.
The episode drew attention in part because the two reporters said they believed they were permitted to stand outside the complex given that Maryland is a public university. Waiting outside team facilities for player comment is a routine practice after coaching changes, and the confrontation raised questions about how the department handled media access on a day of major news on its own campus.
It also comes as Maryland's athletic department has faced recent criticism over decisions involving press conferences with Locksley. The department is now conducting a coaching search while also answering for its treatment of reporters covering the program.
The school's statement did not address whether athletics staff would change how they handle journalists outside team facilities, and it did not say what specific security concerns had prompted the increased presence around the football program in recent weeks.
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