In recent weeks, games have been postponed, moved and played in front of smaller crowds, as fear of violence at the matchups is growing across the country.
The Sept. 29 game scheduled to be played at Euclid High School's stadium was relocated. Euclid's next two games would also be impacted by safety concerns.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With their homecoming football game days away, Jamal Jefferson Jr. and his Euclid High School teammates saw a chance to turn around their one-win season.
The trouble began on Sept. 14, when threats were made at Shaker Heights High School, police reported. The incident prompted administrators tobroke out on and around Euclid’s campus, the school announced the football team’s relocation to Brunswick. Punches had also been thrown at Euclid’s two previous home games, leading to arrests and at least one hospitalization, police reports show.
“It’s disheartening,” said Ayana Fakhir, a Shaker Heights supporter whose son was a senior on the 2021 team, criticizing restrictions on fan attendance. “It’s like wow, these kids have earned the right to play in front as large an audience we can find.” “I don’t recall a game in my 40 years that was either moved to a different site because of the threat of violence or violence,” said McDaniels, who won a national title while helming Canton McKinley and did coaching stints at other area schools, including Solon, before retiring in 2014.
But rather than cancel or reschedule games, the best response to a threat of violence is to establish a coordinated game-day plan, he said. Such measures go beyond security staffing, to include tailored assignments to prevent what he calls “cop clump,” hotspot patrols around places like concession areas, physical barriers between home- and away-team fans, bag policies, trainings for public announcers and coordination with law enforcement.
A better approach is to invest in public education, he says. He also calls on local college and NFL teams, with robust security operations, to offer aid to local high schools. “We were mad, but as a team, I think we worked through it in a good way,” said Jefferson, the Euclid player. “It was just so much going on, and we got the backlash of that.”“It hurts me to see those Euclid kids go through this,” said Stephens, who serves by day as Euclid’s recreation director. “They’re not getting the full high school experience, which just isn’t fair to them.”
· The Cleveland diocese said that it “moved the football game to the away field and postponed the homecoming dance out of an abundance of caution after the incident last Friday at the school.” Pair those elements with the violent institution that is football, and it stands to reason that stadiums can become crime scenes, says Russell E. Ward, a Francis Marion University professor, an Ohio native and an expert on the sociology of high school sports.
“This situation has happened a few times in Ohio, but not very often,” said Tim Stried, spokesman for the Columbus-based Ohio High School Athletic Association.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
It's Just About Peak Leaf Peeping Time in Northeast Ohio, PeopleThe good folks at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, citing info from 'fall color reporters' sending in dispatches from across the state, this week announced it's Peak Peepin' Season across much of Ohio, and damn near peak everywhere else.
Read more »
Northeast Ohio’s weekend weather forecast features more rain, cooler temperaturesRain is in the forecast for this weekend with a bit of sun and chilly weather by Sunday.
Read more »
4 frightening films set in Northeast Ohio to add to your Halloween binge watch listIan Cross is the Digital Executive Producer at News 5 Cleveland.
Read more »
Innovation Ohio Report Shines Light on Ohio’s ‘Missing Voters’“It all comes down to turnout.”
Read more »