South Beach Tow's Bernice Named Florida's First Female High-School Football Head Coach

Lakatriona Brunson has been a lot of things in her life: A high-school track star, a college basketball player, a 10-year-veteran of a woman's football league, and a physical education teacher. Perhaps she's best known as her alter ego, "Bernice," the cult hero of the reality TV program South Beach Tow. 

Now she'll add another bullet point to her unique life resumé: Florida's first female high-school head football coach. 

Brunson will lead the Miami Jackson High School boys' football team. The school has also hired former 2 Live Crew frontman (and Miami New Times columnist) Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell as an assistant coach, making the staff perhaps the most famous ever assembled for a high-school program. 

South Beach Tow, a Jennifer Lopez-produced reality show on Tru TV, should not be especially loved by locals. It follows the exploits of the loathed Tremont Towing — AKA the company that tows your car at seemingly lightning speed on South Beach. But the show has become something of a cult favorite because of Brunson's exploits as Bernice.

On the show, she has ripped car doors clean off, put out a cigarette with a fire extinguisher, and flipped a Smart car with her bare hands. Clips featuring Brunson have become so popular on the web that she's basically become the queen of Tumblr. 


However, the show isn't actually reality. It's full of staged reenactments of things that supposedly happened. Brunson doesn't even work for Tremont in real life. 

Instead, she's a phys-ed teacher at Jackson. All head football coaches in Miami are required to be employed by the school in other teaching jobs, so she's an obvious choice for the job at Jackson, especially considering her experience with the Miami Fury, the women's pro football team. 

Campbell, meanwhile, has a long history as a defensive coordinator at the high-school level. His stints include Miami Central, Miami Northwestern, and, most recently, Miami Norland. His defenses are often highly ranked. 

Brunson will step into some big shoes. The position had been held for two years by Earl Little, a former University of Miami star who went on to play seven seasons in the NFL. He stepped down earlier this year.