The football team at Mountain View High School has chosen to forfeit their Conference 12 League championship game scheduled for Thursday night. This decision comes after five players were suspended due to an inappropriate social media post.
Following Mountain View’s 14-0 victory against Rosemead High School last week, a photo emerged online showing some players mimicking gun gestures with their hands, as reported by Fred Robledo from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
“It was an inappropriate post, and our players should know better. Our school felt it was a dangerous post. You shouldn’t be making gun gestures,” remarked Mountain View head coach Mark Paredes.
Paredes expressed disappointment, stating, “It’s unfortunate. We should have been celebrating our first win over Rosemead in 40 years and preparing for a championship game. Instead, we’re having this conversation and not playing a game. It’s a tough lesson.”
He also noted that players from Rosemead had made similar gestures on social media prior to the game, suggesting that the Mountain View players’ actions were a response to that, although this claim remains unverified.
Located in El Monte, California, Mountain View decided to forfeit the game for safety concerns.
Paredes discussed the reasoning behind the forfeit rather than playing without the suspended players, highlighting, “We don’t have a deep roster. Losing five two-way starters really takes a toll on us. It’s a challenging lesson. Our kids come from tough backgrounds and face many hurdles; this was a significant opportunity for them. It is what it is. They’ll learn from this,” according to the SGV Tribune.
As a result of the forfeit, Arroyo High School (6-4), which was set to face Mountain View (3-7) on Thursday, now secures the league title.
Despite this setback, Mountain View’s season isn’t over, as they had already qualified for the playoffs prior to the championship game’s forfeit.
