Suspended Football Players To Play Again for South East High

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Ten South East High School football players have been reinstated to the team after being suspended last week following an alleged hazing incident.

The locker room fight in which four varsity players allegedly beat a junior varsity teammate, also resulted in the firing of coach Derwin Henderson.

Last week, ten varsity players were suspended from school for three days in connection with the incident. They were also given one-year suspensions from the football team.

Several parents in interviews with Patch accused the school of not having any evidence of wrongdoing against any of the players.

On Thursday, the players were allowed to return to the football team.

“I feel very happy about the future of my son,” said Lucia Alvarez, whose son Alex Alvarez was among the ten suspended. “He is finishing high-school this year and I know he will get a scholarship.”

Alex Alvarez admitted to Patch that after being suspended he worried the incident would hurt his chances of securing a football scholarship.

“[My future] looks much better,” said Alvarez. “I am glad and happy about being back on the team.”

Some of those interviewed expressed their desire to also see coach Henderson rehired.

"What we wanted the most was for our children to be allowed to play,” said Gabriela Rodriguez, the mother of another suspended player. “The other demand is for the coach to return.”

Several parents said they were still upset about the fact that their children were subjected to interrogations by a detective from the Los Angeles School Police, without parental consent.

“Next time, if something happens, they need to do things by the book,” said Ever Florez, stepfather of Alvarez. “They have to let us know about these things and can’t keep us in the dark.”

Some of the parents have hired a lawyer to help them explore their options.

“At the moment we are not (suing) but we do have counsel,” Florez said.

Florez wants the school to drop all accusations against their children. 

Even some parents of players who weren't suspended complained about the unapproved interrogations of the student. 

“If we stay quiet, then the same thing will happen to us with our children,” said Alicia Rodriguez, who is not related to the previous Rodriguez, and whose son was not suspended from the varsity football team.

The suspension of the students also led members of the South Gate City Council to speak up against the district's actions. They also felt that the punishment given to the players was too harsh. 

"We are pleased that all kids were reinstated and are satisfied with decision of the district," said councilmember Maria Davila on behalf of the City Council.

In addition to the firing of the football coach, South East High School principal Maria Sotomayor was recently replaced by an interim principal after the incident came to light.

No one at South East High School would confirm or comment on the reasons for the change in principal. The Los Angeles Unified School District office of communications gave Patch the following statement:

“I can confirm that an interim principal has been put in place,” said an LAUSD spokesperson via email. 

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