Three of the adults involved in the brawl at the football game between Gaithersburg and Northwest high schools, in Montgomery County, Maryland, last month are out of jobs.
On Wednesday afternoon, the school system said in a statement that the positions of the athletic specialist (also known as athletic director) at Gaithersburg High School, and the head and assistant football coaching positions at Northwest, had been “vacated.” It’s not known whether the three left of their own accord.
“The three affected individuals and current school athletics staff have been informed of these decisions,” Montgomery County Public Schools said in the statement. The people who are currently doing those jobs on an interim basis will stay in the positions for the rest of the season.
They didn’t release the names of the people whose jobs had been vacated; Travis Hawkins, the head coach at Northwest, previously told WTOP’s news partner NBC Washington, “I want to apologize to my school, I want to apologize to my community, I want to apologize to the [administration].”
Gaithersburg High School Athletic Director William Gant filed misdemeanor assault charges against Hawkins in the wake of the fight.
The game on Sept. 16 was ruled a double forfeit; both schools also forfeited their next games, which were scheduled for Sept. 23.
The school system immediately put into place several changes to the attendance policy for games:
- Student spectators are limited to those students from the participating schools. Students are asked to show student ID or their class schedules. School-age children from other schools can only attend if accompanied by an adult chaperone.
- Students and spectators are required to sit in the stands during the course of the game, and gatherings at halftime and after games are limited.
- Students and spectators who leave the game are prohibited from reentering; also, no spectators are admitted after halftime.
- No backpacks are allowed.
- “Inappropriate and unruly behavior” at athletic events could result in being suspended from other MCPS athletic events.
- Only athletes, coaches, game officials and credentialed media are permitted on the sidelines at games.
WTOP’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.
