A high school football team in the state of Indiana has decided to forfeit the remainder of its season. The Edinburgh Lancers will not play another game this year.
This decision is in the best interest of the players and their health, both mental and physical.
Edinburgh found itself at the center of a high school football harassment scandal at the end of September. Injuries sustained over the last few weeks also left the roster depleated.
Edinburgh High School called it quits.
Edinburgh Community High School enrolls only 227 students in grades 9-12. It is located in the small town of Edinburgh, Indiana, approximately 34 miles south of Indianapolis and 40 miles northeast of Bloomington.
Edinburgh superintendent Jim Halik made the final decision to cancel the remainder of the high school football season at the end of last week. Two additional regular season games were on the schedule, including a game at second-ranked North Decatur. He said the team is down to “12 to 14 healthy players” after starting the season with around 20 in total. That is not enough.
“After careful consideration, due to a limited number of players, the remainder of the Edinburgh High School football season has been canceled. This decision was not made lightly. The safety of our student athletes continues to be our highest priority. It’s so hard to at a small school to have enough players for a team … the decision was strictly based on the safety of the players.”
The last part of his statement is perhaps the most important. Halik claims the decision was made only for the safety of the players because there are not enough bodies to field a legitimate team.
However, the Lancers were involved with a very serious scandal just a few weeks ago.
High school football harassment.
Edinburgh chose to cancel its homecoming game on Sept. 19 after a formal complaint of harassment was elevated to Halik and principal Kevin Rockey. One of the players on the football team made accusations against two other players on the team.
It was a sophomore who spoke up. He is Black, which is important context.
The student moved to online classes less than two months into the school year after he allegedly received a concerning threat from the other two teammates on Snapchat. They warned him not to come to practice because some players were planning to “jump” him. They also said to “kill all n——.”
The two students who sent the video were suspended for 10 days and removed from the football team.
So, yes, injuries played a role in the Lancers’ decision not to play another game this season. As did the horrifying scandal that took place last month.