The McClatchy and Kennedy high school football teams will forfeit their games this weekend as a consequence of an altercation among players from both teams last Friday, Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said today.
The game, played in Greenhaven, was terminated with five minutes to play and McClatchy leading 14-0 after an on-field brawl that lasted nearly five minutes.
"I believe this action is necessary to ensure that an incident of this sort is not repeated in Sacramento City Unified," Raymond said in a media release. "This kind of behavior is against the tenets of good sportsmanship and will not be tolerated in our community. There is no excuse for what transpired. Both teams need to earn back the respect they lost on the field last weekend. I feel strongly that athletics in our district is a privilege not a right."
Kennedy will forfeit its home game Friday night against Valley. McClatchy will forfeit its afternoon game on Saturday against Rosemont.
A district spokesperson said that coaches, athletic directors, principals and administrators met this morning to discuss the fight.
A video of the final five minutes was reviewed and all involved were given an opportunity to suggest appropriate consequences.
Those in attendance agreed that coaches, ADs and team captains will come together this week for a sportsmanship summit. In addition, the two teams will participate together in a community service event (to be determined) this weekend.
Each school also is determining appropriate disciplinary actions for individual students involved.
McClatchy coach Malcolm Floyd, in an e-mail, said that three players will be suspended for "one or two games" and another has been removed from the team.
Kennedy coach Henry Lusk said he was still conferring with school officials about disciplinary action involving his players but would have more information later today.
Earlier today, principals of both schools notified faculty, students, parents and staff of the forfeiture and other actions.
"This is an embarrassment for our community and we are all anxious to put it behind us," Raymond said in the release. "The best outcome is that we use the incident as a teachable moment...."
News10/KXTV: Players brawl ends Kennedy/McClatchy game - Oct. 2, 2011
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