He will take administrative leave from Tennessee beginning Monday and remain on staff until June 30 unless he finds new employment.
Hamilton will join UT-Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, former Vols and current Southern California football coach Lane Kiffin and former basketball coach Bruce Pearl and other Tennessee representatives to respond to the NCAA's charges on Saturday in Indianapolis. "During the last three months in particular, I myself have become a lightning rod for negative attention, and that's a major distraction for the many positive things that are going on in athletics and on our campus."
This is not healthy, nor is it productive for our university," Hamilton said. "The last several years at UT have been marked by turmoil, fractures and the development of camps. During a three-year period, Hamilton fired a popular coach, hired a controversial one and now the athletic department faces 12 NCAA infractions against the football and basketball programs. Hamilton, who has been at the helm of Tennessee men's athletics for eight seasons, said it was both a personal decision and one that he hoped would help reunite the Vols fanbase. Michael passed away from lung cancer on Jat the Good Shepherd’s Emmanuel House hospice in Hamilton which used to be a housing residence for individuals living with HIV/AIDS.Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton announced Tuesday he decided to resign so the Volunteers would have a "clean slate" when they go before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions later in the week. In addition to Michael’s activist work, he was a part of the Social Justice and World Outreach committees of the Hamilton Presbytery of the United Church of Canada and was an active member of the Hamilton Group of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. He was also involved in the AIDS Prevention Task Force Implementation Subcommittee of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, the AIDS Working Group on Anonymous HIV Testing, and Regional Palliative Care Program Hospice Services Group.Īt the Hamilton GALA Honour Roll Dinner in 1991, Michael Johnstone and Anne Cassel were presented with the Honour Roll Award plaque to recognize their contributions to the LGBTQ+ community in Hamilton throughout the years. Since its founding in 1986, Michael was a member of the Hamilton AIDS Network for Dialogue and Support (HANDS) Board of Directors, was the president from 1991 to 1993, and a member of the Steering Committee. Michael was the self-appointed archivist of the Hamilton-Wentworth Gay Archives which was founded in 1982 and was also involved in the Gay Phoenix (then The Phoenix/Hamilton Phoenix) newsletter, Lesbian/Gayline and Speakers’ Bureau. Michael was one of the founding members of HUGS and served in different executive committee roles such as secretary, treasurer and president from 1980 to 1982 and again from 1988 to 1991 when HUGS changed its name to Hamilton Gay and Lesbian Alliance (HGALA). To expand outside of McMaster University and into the broader Hamilton community, core members of the McMaster Homophile Association formed Hamilton United Gay Societies (HUGS) in 1980.
At this time, the Hamilton-McMaster Gay Liberation Movement group had been established. Michael also served as a secretary of the Coordinating Office of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Rights Coalition that dealt with specific issues of federal jurisdiction. Prior to moving back to Hamilton in 1979, he was a member of Gays of Ottawa from 1976 to 1979. Michael was involved in the founding of many gay and lesbian organizations in the Hamilton area. Michael returned to school at Mohawk College for nursing in the 1980’s and worked at the Hamilton General Hospital as a registered nurse in the post-operative care unit for more than 25 years until his retirement. He was also involved with The Silhouette, McMaster University’s student-run newspaper as a writer from 1962 to 1963 and with the McMaster’s Film Board. He graduated from McMaster University in 1969 where he served as the Student Cultural Affairs Commissioner and President of the McMaster Students Union. Michael Roderick Johnstone was born in Hamilton, Ontario at the Salvation Army Hospital.
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