Woah. I was tuning into one of the games on Saturday morning and saw the Bishop Sycamore name come up on the schedule of aired games. I did think to myself that I had never heard of them but didn't follow up on it.

This is just strange on all levels. Is it even a highschool or is this like a club team? So many questions.

Who is in charge here? Playing 2 games in a weekend and against IMG Academy of all opponents, seems...not smart?

By the name it’s an exclusive Catholic private school, in the vein of a Bishop Watterson or Bishop Hartley. Monsenior Sycamore was a good guy back in the day.

Man, the NIL continues to wreck the formerly pristine institution of high school football.

The OHSAA is NOT going to handle this, they are NOT in the OHSAA, and not subject to the rules of the OHSAA. Any OHIO school that plays them does NOT get any Harbin points. Belfrey KY, was to play them two years ago, but the KHSAA would not sanction the game since the OHSAA would not sanction the game. Interesting though, Johnson Central will still play them this coming week.

Hoban waxed them in week 1. They're scheduled to play St. Edward later in the year. Can Ed's say screw it, cancel that game, and see who's available that date after inevitable Covid cancellations?

Any player who has already graduated HS shouldn't be playing HS teams. They should be classified as JUCO.

Could a law suit follow?

"The roster appears to be filled with several players who might have already graduated high school from other states. The quarterback that played against IMG Academy was Jailen Knight, whose Twitter account said he is a three-star prospect in the 2023 class, while his bio links him to a Hudl page for Perry Hall High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Meanwhile, a 247Sports recruiting page lists Knight as an unrecruited QB, who graduated in 2021. Trillian Harris lists himself on Hudl as a senior quarterback for Bishop Sycamore, while a 247Sports page has him as a California QB in the 2021 class that went unrecruited, and footage from his Hudl page appears to confirm he played for Mission Viejo. Lineman Javan Peterson lists himself as a junior on Hudl, but his timeline shows highlights from a sophomore year in 2018 — which would make him a 2021 grad — while he was playing with CoF Academy in Columbus."


https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-football/news/espn-h...

If you are going to sue anyone, it would be your own school for playing an unsanctioned school.

There's always a suit to be filed. Just ask any of the lawyers involved in the plot to overturn the 2020 election. How many did they file, 80 or so?

A suit against Bishop Sycamore (their initials should have raised red flags) might actually have a chance to succeed, given there might be a basis for fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract if they're shut down, reckless endangerment given the number of games they play in a week, and a host of other grounds that their players, opposing players, ESPN, the scheduler, and maybe others could come up with. And if BS is sued or is forced to shut down, look for them to file for bankruptcy, although if they're somehow actually connected to the Catholic Church, there's a deep pocket.

ESPN apparently is making an example of the school by airing a replay of the game tomorrow night at 8:00 on ESPNU. Subject to change without notice.

I don't question your unequalled knowledge of all things HS sports, but in this case you need to take off the administration hat and put on a legal hat. If BS told Sto Rox the players were indeed HS athletes and they were not, that is fraud. BS can play by their own rules, but the opponents need to be be in on it. BS apparently sent opponents (and ESPN) fake rosters. That may not break any sanctioned / unsanctioned rules, but it is fraud. And if my son got his knee blown out by a 22 year old posing as a HS player with the knowledge of the opposing team and school AND WITHOUT the knowledge of my team (which has documents saying said 22 year old is HS age), then I'm suing and I'm winning. And no judge is going rule Bishop Sycamore can do what they want because the game was unsanctioned.

Now if Sto Rox knowing played agains a team with older kids, fine - I hear ya. But given the false info presented to ESPN and other opponents, I think it wise to see just how deceptive BS may have been in representing their team.

A judge may not have authority over a game being unsanctioned, but they do rule with respect to fraud.

You / We have no idea what Sto Rox was told. So don't presume all dirty dogs lie together. Sto-Rox is hardly a football machine or power - The issue is what was told to them. And you (nor I) have any idea. But if it was false, the "well these type of schools..." is not an excuse, Just as "well it was unsanctioned" is not a get out of a lawsuit defense. Also - just an FYI - I'm fully aware of the the BS type of school. We actually have them there type here in NC believe it or not. In fact, OHIO has recruited from them (in both football and basketball).

And here's a shocker, If one of our players lied about his age and played HS sports past his eligibility then yes, I think he should be held accountable -- as should anyone that knowingly enabled it to happen - and certainly if they forged documents to make it happen. I don't give any credence to the "everyone does it" defense - and most courts don't either.

Again (since you like to use that word), if its found Sto-Rox was in on the - "yea their much older" pact, then fine, but if not, courts and fraud do not care about the "but its unsanctioned" and "you all knew they were sleazy" defenses (especially since it does not appear to be some rogue kid, but rather a team / school wide situation -- often called "lack of institutional control" in other arenas.