Recruiting controversy roils FCPS football

Three school board members – Ricardy Anderson (Mason), Mateo Dunne (Mount Vernon), and Ryan McElveen (at large) – issued a statement calling for a “comprehensive and independent investigation” of the Hayfield Secondary School football controversy.

The school board members say the actions taken by FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid to investigate the situation didn’t go far enough.

Recruiting violations

The statement charges Fairfax County Public Schools failed to accept “full responsibility for its actions and errors and has failed to commit to a course of action that will remedy current challenges and prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.”

The trouble started last winter when 14 football players transferred to Hayfield, located in Alexandria, from Freedom High School in Prince William County. Overall, 31 players transferred to Hayfield from other schools in the region.

The school’s newly hired football coach, Darryl Overton, had formerly been at Freedom. Soon after Overton arrived at Hayfield, there were reports of bullying against current players.

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) accused Hayfield of recruiting violations and banned the team from postseason play for two years.

“By all accounts, the number and timing of the transfers was unusual and unprecedented,” the three school board members state. “In our opinion, FCPS failed to investigate the student transfers in a timely manner.”

Appeals rejected

Hayfield administrators filed two appeals of the VHSL decision, which were both rejected. Parents then filed a legal injunction in circuit court. The court overturned the ban and allowed the team back into the playoffs. Six coaches at other high schools threatened to boycott the playoffs, but then agreed to participate. A coalition of booster clubs also demanded an investigation.

Reid announced Nov. 20 that FCPS, although not a party to the litigation, is allowing Hayfield to play in the postseason. She noted that in August, VHSL found every player on the Hayfield team was eligible to stay on the team, then two months later declared the entire team ineligible for postseason play without any specific evidence of recruiting or other violations.

During the first playoff game, the Hayfield Hawks beat Edison High School 75-7.

Then on Nov. 25, Hayfield Secondary School announced a decision to withdraw its football team from postseason play.

Recently revealed text messages show Hayfield’s Director of Student Activities Monty Fritts knew that Overton was recruiting students from other schools. Fritts reportedly intends to take a leave of absence.

An investigation this summer by an attorney hired by FCPS, Cynthia Hudson, concluded that Overton did not illegally recruit players from Freedom High School and did not substantiate the allegations that students on the Hayfield football team did not reside in the Hayfield attendance zone.

Last week, Reid said FCPS will undertake a “comprehensive and independent external investigation and review of all student-athlete transfers and eligibility practices across all sports and in all of our high schools.”

“We also stand ready to work with the VHSL to improve their policies and processes on student-athlete eligibility,” she said.

Reid appointed Tom Horn, the FCPS executive director of Activities and Student Athletics, to lead the investigation.

School board chair Karl Frisch (Providence) and board member Marcia St. John-Cunning (Franconia) issued separate statements supporting Reid’s handling of the Hayfield issue.

An independent investigation

The statement by Anderson, Dunne, and McElveen calls for the school board to “select an outside law firm without any pre-existing relationship with FCPS or the superintendent” to conduct a comprehensive, independent investigation that includes:

• the involuntary reassignment of FCPS employees;
• the alleged recruitment of football players from other schools;
• the transfer of football players from other schools;
• the residency and eligibility of the football players concerned;
• cyberbullying and social media policy violations;
• the conduct of the internal investigation from June to August 2024; and
• the handling of this matter by FCPS leadership since February 2024.

The law firm should report directly to the school board’s auditor general, they say, and it “should have free rein to examine relevant data and documentation, interview relevant parties and personnel, and make appropriate recommendations to the school board.” 

The school board members plan to push for a new policy to govern the hiring, reassignment, removal, and training of coaches; increased controls on the hiring and removal of school-based administrators; and a code of ethics for FCPS administrators.

“All student-athletes deserve the opportunity to compete on a level playing field in accordance with established rules that are consistently and fairly enforced,” the statement continues. “We believe that FCPS failed to protect its student-athletes and maintain the integrity of its athletic program. This situation has tarnished the reputation of FCPS and disrupted the lives of countless students, families/caregivers, and community members.”