Howard High School cancels JV football season following locker room incident

Nearly two weeks after members of the Howard High School junior varsity football team attempted to put one of their teammates in a locker room toilet, the school’s principal announced Wednesday that the team’s season is over.

Howard High Principal Allen Cosentino wrote to parents of JV football players Wednesday to inform them of the decision. He said that because of circumstances beyond the school’s control it has been “difficult to fully understand the extent of the behavior occurring among JV football participants in the school’s locker room and elsewhere.”

Seven junior varsity football players face second-degree assault charges following the incident. The students, aged 14 to 16, were charged with second-degree assault in the state’s juvenile justice system, Howard Police said.

Cellphone footage captured Sept. 25 in a school locker room shows a student grabbing at the corner of a locker room wall while another student struggles to pull him into another room. Other students have their cellphones out, recording the interaction and laughing. At one point, the student’s backpack is ripped off his back as another student lifts him off the floor and carries him upside down.

Others in the locker room can be heard in the video chanting “toilet, toilet, toilet.”

A second video shows the student on the ground after other students attempted to pull him by his legs and torso, pulling his shoe off.

Howard Police confirmed the authenticity of the videos last week.

The decision to end the season was made by Cosentino, Howard Schools Superintendent Bill Barnes and other school system officials, including the director of athletics, general counsel, chief of equity and innovation, and chief of schools.

“It is likely that the investigation will continue for at least several more weeks, making it impossible to safely and reasonably restart and complete the season,” Cosentino wrote in his email.

JV players will not be called up to play on varsity for the remainder of the season, Cosentino said.

In a community message Wednesday, Barnes addressed the recent “behavior occurring related to HCPSS extracurricular athletics that is concerning — to say the least.”

“At best, much of this behavior could be characterized as inappropriate and juvenile; at worst, some of it may constitute criminal conduct,” Barnes continued.

The superintendent said he is “deeply concerned” that social media trends, the ability to instantly record and publish content, and a desire for attention “are contributing to a culture in which inappropriate, and sometimes illegal, behavior is being acted out, recorded, shared, celebrated, and treated as entertainment.”

Barnes wrote that he expects every student to treat each another with respect, kindness and dignity, and to always conduct themselves in an appropriate manner in a school setting. He also expects adults to do their part in ensuring student behavior meets expectations and to intervene when it does not.

Barnes said that every county high school administrator, athletics and activities manager, and coach is expected to speak directly with student athletes about what behavior is appropriate and what isn’t; revisit appropriate locker room supervision expectations and procedures; remain diligent to ensure that students are protected in school-sponsored activities; and share with students the protocols of reporting bullying.

When asked if any students from the team are suspended from school, Brian Bassett, a school spokesman, said in a statement: “We don’t provide information related to ongoing investigations involving students and any discipline that may result.”

Cosentino said he plans to meet with the junior varsity team to discuss the decision and how they can prepare in a positive and productive way for next season. He invited all of the team members’ families to speak with him at a meeting Monday evening in Howard High’s media center. The meeting will be open only to Howard High junior varsity families.

“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,” Costentino said. “I am deeply saddened that these students are affected by this decision.”