Florence Ballard her suit. Angered, Gordy ordered her to return to Detroit, and Birdsong officially replaced her, abruptly ending her tenure with the Supremes. It had been decided as early as May that Birdsong would be Ballard's official replacement once Birdsong's contract with the Bluebelles was bought out. In August 1967, the "Detroit Free Press" reported that Ballard had taken a temporary leave of absence from the group due to "exhaustion". Ballard eventually married her boyfriend, Thomas Chapman, on February 29, 1968. A week earlier, on February 22, Ballard and Motown negotiated to have Ballard released from the label. Her attorney in
Jeremy Ballard Jeremy Ballard Jeremy Ballard (born June 29, 1981) is an American college basketball coach, and current head coach of the FIU Panthers men's basketball team. Ballard played college basketball at Colgate, where he was a two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection, and served as team captain his senior year.. He is a devoted member of the young male's mentoring group known as "the Commission" which prides itself on the development of young men in highly competitive academic environments. After graduation, Ballard became an assistant coach with his alma mater, where he stayed from 2004 to 2007 before joining the