School president says decision to forfeit Friday's game about doing 'what is right for our community'
WARREN — Two-time defending state football champion Warren De La Salle has decided to forfeit Friday night’s football playoff game, citing allegations of hazing.
This means the Pilots, who were scheduled to play at Birmingham Groves in the Michigan High School Athletic Association tournament’s pre-district round, are eliminated from the post-season bracket, effectively ending their season.
According to a press release issued Thursday afternoon by De La Salle officials, administrators became aware of a hazing incident in the locker room that involved the varsity football team and one of its players. An investigation into the incident revealed it “had deeper roots.”
In the school-issued communication, De La Salle President John M. Knight said, “At this time, as we continue our investigation, the school leadership feels that it best that we take a step back from the field of competition. We do so with sadness, but also with a heart and mind and spirit determined to do what is right. What is right for our young men. What is right for our community. And what is right according to our Lasallian Catholic values.”
“De La Salle Collegiate is a Lasallian Catholic school. We uphold values of human dignity, good sportsmanship, and respect for all,” said Knight, who did not respond to requests for more information as of Thursday evening.
The school also announced the news in an email sent to parents Thursday afternoon.
No individual students were named in either the press release or the email due to privacy issues, nor did the parental communication go into detail about the nature of the hazing incidents, other than “… many players on the team appear to have been aware of such hazing but failed to report it."
"Behaviors violating our code of conduct or that do not reflect our Christian morality, let alone civility and respect for others, will not be tolerated,” the email stated.
Coming off state championships in 2017 and 2018, De La Salle was named as the pre-season favorite to win another Central Division championship this fall. But the Pilots struggled at times, and did not qualify for the Catholic League championship game. They finished with a 5-4 record, below the team’s 12-2 record in each of the last two seasons, yet still good enough for a berth in the state playoffs.
De La Salle’s decision to forfeit caught Birmingham Groves coach Brendan Flaherty off-guard.
“It’s kind of a shock to me — I know that it’s not the right word, but we’re still not really sure, because we have no details of anything,” Flaherty said. “My athletic director talked to me at 3:30 (Thursday afternoon) and said they were forfeiting to us — there were some hazing incidents and that’s all we know. We had a team dinner and just went home to enjoy Halloween, and we’ll try to regroup tomorrow.”
Friday’s pre-district playoff game could have been one of the best on the entire schedule. The two teams’ prior matchup came in last year’s Division 2 semifinals. But that game will not happen, and the MHSAA granted Groves a 2-0 forfeit victory.
“It’s hard for me to comment because it’s a serious thing and there are victims involved,” said Flaherty, who graduated from Royal Oak Shrine in 1985 and played football there. “I feel awful for their team and their community; they work hard and I just hope there’s nothing more serious to it. We’re in the teen-age business and I know teen-aged kids do some things that are not real smart sometimes.”
