FDNY Assistant Commissioner Resigned Following Racial Concerns Over Team Building Exercise
An incident at a Brooklyn high school set in motion a chain of events that led to the resignation of Michele Maglione, Assistant Commissioner of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and head of its Youth Workforce Development division.
On August 21, 2025, during a “leadership academy” hosted at FDNY’s Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety, an activity was conducted in which students—mostly Black—participated in a relay game. In the game, participants had their hands tied behind their backs, had petroleum jelly smeared on their faces, and were asked to collect cotton balls using only their heads. The team that gathered the most cotton balls across the classroom was to win.
The activity was described internally as being part of team-building exercises. A video of the event was posted on social media, which included some students appearing to be smiling or enjoying themselves.
FDNY recruiters who saw the video filed complaints. They characterized the exercise as “offensive,” citing its resemblance to historical practices of forced cotton picking, and the use of petroleum jelly and binding of hands as particularly problematic given the racial context.
City leaders also spoke out. New York City Mayor Eric Adams publicly called the exercise “terrible,” saying that one “should know the significance of picking cotton and putting it on their face.” Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos similarly condemned the event, stating it was “insensitive and in no way aligned with our values.”
After becoming aware of the incident and the social media post, FDNY placed Maglione on modified duty status and launched an internal investigation. It is not clear from news reports whether Commissioner Maglione was personally involved in the exercise or whether she simply oversaw those who were.
Preliminarily, Maglione was removed from her post overseeing the leadership academy and demoted pending disciplinary action. At that point, she opted to retire from her $190,000 position rather than face further proceedings. Her resignation was framed in some reports as a retirement. Supporters and internal sources reportedly described the decision to retire as preferable to remaining under investigation and disciplinary proceedings.
Following the cotton-ball relay controversy, further allegations emerged. A former participant in the FDNY EMS Youth Academy, Cara McCammon, alleged that Commissioner Maglione in the past had made comments to mostly Black and Hispanic students saying “You don’t belong here,” and had called them “idiots.” McCammon also claimed that after criticizing Commissioner Maglione on social media for creating what she described as a “hostile environment,” she was removed from the program one week before final exams. McCammon said the experience prevented her from further pursuing a career in EMS. More on the story.
