Football Team Forfeits Game In North Bay After Student Walkout Over 'Cornell 7' Post: Report

SANTA ROSA, CA — Piner High School’s football team forfeited its Saturday game against Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo, citing a lack of healthy players, one day after more than 200 students walked out of class to protest a teammate’s social media post about sexual assault, according to a report by The Press Democrat.

Piner head coach Adam Rosenstein told the newspaper the team’s main roster issue was a shortage of healthy linemen. Although the varsity roster listed 33 players, Rosenstein said the team had only five healthy linemen available for the game.

The forfeit was finalized Friday evening, according to an email Archie Williams athletic director Jett Russell sent to the Press Democrat. Piner’s record fell to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in league play.

The game cancellation came a day after Piner students marched about 2.5 miles to Santa Rosa City Schools district offices to demand accountability and greater support for students speaking out against sexual violence, according to The Press Democrat.

The protest followed an Oct. 2 Instagram post by a Piner football captain that read “Free the Cornell 7,” an apparent reference to seven men accused of sexually assaulting a Cornell University student, the report stated. The student’s name is being withheld because he is a minor.

Students said they were concerned the post appeared to support rape culture and questioned whether school administrators were taking their concerns seriously.

“He doesn’t deserve to be representing us,” Piner senior Aiyanna, who declined to provide her last name, told The Press Democrat. “None of us stand with what he’s saying.”

In a message to families Thursday, Piner Principal Andrea Correia said the school did not tolerate or condone sexual assault, harassment or abuse.

“I stand firmly against these behaviors, as does Piner Junior Senior High School,” Correia wrote. “We stand with those who speak up, and with everyone in our community who believes that harassment, assault, and abuse have no place at Piner.”

Santa Rosa City Schools officials said they were investigating the social media post and would determine appropriate disciplinary action under the district’s student code of conduct and social media agreement, according to The Press Democrat.

Read the full story at The Press Democrat.