ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The Howard High School junior varsity football team had the remainder of its season canceled after seven players were charged in a locker room bullying incident.
In an email sent Wednesday to team members' families, Howard High School Principal Allen Cosentino said the ongoing investigation into the locker room incident and other allegations will likely continue for several more weeks, "making it impossible to safely and reasonably restart and complete the season."
The team had been suspended indefinitely, Patch reported previously.
Cosentino said no junior varsity players will be allowed to be called up to the varsity level for the rest of the season.
"I understand that this will be extremely disappointing news, particularly for those student-athletes who were not involved in inappropriate behavior, were unaware of what was occurring, or may have reported concerns that were not adequately resolved. I am deeply saddened that these students are affected by this decision," Cosentino wrote.
The move came after April Bridges alleged that her son had been bullied by junior varsity teams when students are unsupervised for an hour after school before football practice. The primary incident involving her son happened Sept. 25.
Video footage provided to WMAR shows football players picking up her son and trying to shove him into the toilet. He had been beaten up to the extent that he was taken to the hospital, Bridges said.
"He's been beaten, battered, kidnapped, assaulted, sexually assaulted, false imprisonment, robbed," Bridges told WMAR. "I would like charges pressed to the full extent of what occurred to my child."
Howard County Public Schools Superintendent Bill Barnes spoke out Wednesday, saying he was concerned about what happened and calling on coaches, administrators, and athletics/activities managers to act.
"...incidents like the one recently reported in the news media cause me significant concern about the well-being and decision-making of our student-athletes. I am deeply concerned that social media trends, the desire for attention and the ability to record and publish content instantly are contributing to a culture in which inappropriate, and sometimes illegal, behavior is being acted out, recorded, shared, celebrated and treated as entertainment," Barnes stated.
"At best, much of this behavior could be characterized as inappropriate and juvenile; at worst, some of it may constitute criminal conduct," Barnes stated.
However, Barnes also said adults in the school system and community need to be more vocal about their expectations for student behavior in school, at practice, and beyond.
"We expect the same conduct in our extracurricular activities that we do in the classroom. If a behavior, action or inaction or language is inappropriate for the classroom, it is also inappropriate during extracurricular activities," Barnes said.
"I expect every HCPSS student to treat one another with kindness, dignity and respect and to always conduct themselves in a manner appropriate for a school setting. I also expect adults in our schools and community to do their part to ensure student behavior meets these expectations and to intervene or report immediately when they become aware of conduct that does not."
Barnes also said he has directed every HCPSS high school administrator, athletics and activities managers, and coaches to take the following actions:
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Ellicott City Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.