A Fairfax County high school football team has withdrawn from the postseason amid allegations that it violated Virginia High School League rules.
In a statement Monday, Superintendent Michelle Reid said Hayfield Secondary School “announced the difficult decision to withdraw the football team from further postseason play.”
Hayfield’s scheduled opponent in the semifinals, Fairfax High School, will automatically advance to the Region 6C finals, where they will face the winner of Lake Braddock and West Springfield.
Hayfield’s football team has been entangled in a controversy over recruitment efforts and a culture that allegedly included bullying for months.
“I have asked Tom Horn, Executive Director, Activities and Student Athletics, to work with VHSL to take any and all appropriate next steps,” Reid wrote.
In a statement to WTOP, the VHSL said it would comment on the situation Tuesday morning.
To play or not to play: Hayfield’s postseason ban struck down
Since the spring, allegations of recruiting violations and a culture of bullying have been swirling around Hayfield’s football program.
Head coach Darryl Overton, in his first year in Fairfax County, is accused of recruiting his former players from Freedom High School in Woodbridge. Thirty-one football players transferred into Hayfield, Dunne said, and at least 14 of them came from Freedom.
The school division’s investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, but the Virginia High School League banned Hayfield from the playoffs for two years, citing alleged violations of league rules.
A judge later struck the ban down, enabling Hayfield to win its first playoff game over Edison last Thursday.
But the school division’s investigation was “flawed and limited,” school board members said. Three members have been outspoken about going ahead with an independent review done by a private law firm that doesn’t have a relationship with the superintendent or the county.
Concerning texts brought to light
FCPS said in a statement Monday it can only act on the information that it has, and that text messages brought to light last week brought new concerns to its initial investigation.
Asked about the board members’ criticism, a school system spokeswoman pointed to a statement saying the division is “reviewing concerning text messages” involving athletic director Monty Fritts.
The Fairfax Times first reported that Fritts exchanged messages with someone regarding exploiting a residency loophole. According to the Times, Fritts resigned Monday after the texts were disclosed. WTOP confirmed Fritts has submitted his intent to resign, effective Dec. 2.
In a statement to WTOP on Nov. 22. Fairfax County schools said Fritts submitted a “request for a leave of absence” for an opportunity overseas.
On top of that, the ongoing controversy, the board members said, has damaged the school system’s reputation and resulted in student-athletes being the target of hateful messages. Calling the messages hurtful and reprehensible, School board member Mateo Dunne said many of the athletes who transferred to Hayfield are receiving hateful and racist remarks on social media.
How to handle the ‘scandal’
This weekend, Superintendent Reid said the school system was launching an external, independent review of FCPS’ student-athlete transfer and eligibility practices across all sports programs and all high schools.
Dunne said he’s happy to hear that, but more needs to be done.
“I welcome the Superintendent’s decision to launch an external review of student transfers, but a limited review is insufficient to restore the integrity of our athletic programs and to rebuild public trust in FCPS leadership,” Dunne said in a statement to WTOP.
Dunne and fellow board members Ricardy Anderson and Ryan McElveen are calling for an independent investigation into the controversy, speaking as individuals and not on behalf of the board in a rare public critique of the school system. That call was echoed by the chair of the City of Fairfax School Board, Carolyn Pitches, who also said an investigation should look into FCPS and its legal counsel’s handling of the matter.
Dunne said the results should be shared “to strengthen our athletics program, but also to hold accountable our FCPS officials who were involved in the scandal.”
“This has impacted almost every football team and every football program in our county,” Dunne said. “It has disrupted the lives of parents, not just the football players, but cheer, band, seniors. It’s caused boosters to lose thousands of dollars in concessions for football games, cancel at the last minute, cause needless litigation, and it’s caused just a huge distraction for the school board at a time when I would prefer to be speaking about all the great things that have been accomplished under the superintendent.”
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