A Massachusetts high school boys lacrosse team forfeited its state semifinal game earlier this week after photos surfaced online of six members of the team allegedly smoking cigars after their graduation, breaking a rule in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic’s Association tobacco policy.
One of the students involved spoke to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, claiming the cigars were fake. The student said the cigars were made of tea leaves because they were aware of the rule and didn’t want to jeopardize the team going into their “Final Four” game.
But in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital on Friday, Ipswich High School superintendent Brian Blake and Principal Jonathan Mitchell refuted those claims, adding that they wanted to ensure that an “accurate account” of what transpired was being presented to the public.
On Monday morning, June 8, a day after the high school’s graduation, the school became aware of two photographs on the Internet of six lacrosse players who appeared to be smoking cigars. The statement claimed only one of two photos had been presented to the media.
“The second photograph – which apparently was not provided to the media – showed the cigars smoked down significantly; a cloud of smoke surrounding one of the students; and a torch-type lighter visible in the hand of another of the students,” the statement read.
“Shortly after reviewing the photographs, the District learned that the photographs were posted on the Facebook page of one of the players’ parents. Based on the mandatory MIAA Chemical Health policy, which is also incorporated in the Ipswich Student-Athlete Handbook, school administrators commenced an investigation, including interviewing the involved students and/or their parents and giving them the opportunity to explain their version of events.”
READ THE SCHOOL’S FULL STATEMENT HERE:
The student involved told Fox News Digital in an earlier conversation that his father, John Gianakakis, called the cigar shop in Ipswich and asked for fake cigars so the kids could follow the tradition of smoking cigars after graduation.
During the school’s investigation, administrators were told the cigars were “fake,” containing chamomile and English breakfast tea rather than tobacco. Administrators were shown a receipt from a local grocery store, where the cigars were purchased.
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The school’s statement said the receipt supporting the claim of the fake cigars had the time and date smudged out.
“When District administrators met on the morning of June 9 to review the evidence they had obtained, it was determined that the cigars were in fact not ‘fake,’ as they had been told. As noted, one photograph showed smoke and a lighter, as well as the fact that the cigars were significantly shorter than they were in the first photograph. In addition, the photographs had been removed from the Facebook page, and the receipt allegedly supporting the claim that they were filled with tea had the date and time smudged out,” the statement read.
Upon seeing the smudged receipt, the administration concluded that a violation of the Chemical Health policy had been committed and proceeded to inform the families of the six players that they were suspended. The school’s statement also added that days later, following the “uproar” in the media over the story, Mitchell went to the supermarket to see whether the receipt could be reproduced in an effort to confirm the actual purchase date.
On that trip to the supermarket, Mitchell allegedly discovered that the receipt for the fake cigars was purchased 20 minutes after the families were informed of the potential violation on Monday.
The school’s statement also pointed the finger at the students when it came to the forfeiture.
“Rumors of a team ‘walkout’ began to spread and three players stated that they refused to play, in solidarity with their suspended teammates. This left only 11 players available to play in the Semifinal game in a sport which requires ten players to be on the field at any given time (subject to being a “man down” for penalties),” the statement read.
The principal, athletic director and coach then discussed the situation, and allegedly allowed the players to vote. The players overwhelmingly forfeited the game, which the district honored, according to the school’s statement.
The student involved told Fox News Digital that the team was on the bus when they first learned of the suspensions and that, when they first boarded the bus, they thought they would be allowed to play. The student involved said “everybody was in shock” and that “we really didn’t know what to do.”
The student involved said the final decision came from Blake, the superintendent.
An attorney representing John Gianakakis, one of the parents of the students involved, provided a statement to Fox News Digital in response to questions about officials’ allegations that the cigars were not “fake” and that the students were responsible for the forfeiture. The statement claimed that Blake allegedly had a bias against the athletes of the school.
The statement added that Blake acted as “judge, jury, and executioner,” moving with “lightning speed.” The statement accused Blake of acting out of retaliation for an incident that occurred earlier in the lacrosse season.
READ THE FAMILY ATTORNEY’S STATEMENT HERE:
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“Earlier this year, Blake was scrutinized when there was a serious injury at a lacrosse game with both personnel and equipment deficiencies becoming part of the public criticism,” the attorney’s statement read.
“What makes that part of the story interesting is that the lack of safety equipment and an AED at the game is far more important than whether kids posed for a photo. But that got swept under the rug and they took their sweet time dealing with that. Lacrosse parents pushed for accountability, and there is a perception in town that Blake acted here out of animus and retaliation against the team. And that perception seems quite fair.”
The statement called Blake a “bitter” and “angry” man who is lashing out kids, and said the analysis they did in their statement “sounds like a CSI episode.”
The school said they fully understand the “disappointment, frustration, and emotions” that came with their decision, calling it heartbreaking but adding that they remained committed to applying their policies consistently.
The attorney’s statement also accused Mitchell’s own son being seen celebrating his graduation with a cigar.
The attorney said that they look forward to the day Blake is no longer “permitted any authority or power over young people” and said that Mitchell “and his hypocrisy and bias has no place in a reasonable community either.”
Mitchell, when asked by Fox News Digital for a comment to the attorney’s statement, responded with, “I missed the part where he admits that he made up the whole story.”
In an additional statement to Fox News Digital, the Gianakakis attorney said a number of the claims in their statement seemed “unsupported by the facts” and asked for further proof.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Blake’s office for comment in response to the attorney’s statement. His office responded with its original statement.
The Ipswich boys lacrosse team was undefeated prior to its forfeiture.
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