Amador school district ends investigation after canceled football season. What happens next?
An investigation into what led the Amador County Unified School District in October to cancel the Amador High varsity football team’s season is complete, Superintendent Torie F. Gibson told community and parents tied to the Sutter Creek school in a Friday email.
The program has been cleared to resume football activities. The district did not disclose any punishment that student-athletes received, though The Bee has learned that those cleared of wrongdoing were allowed to resume sports competition Oct. 31.
A team group chat that included racist, antisemitic and homophobic speech was discovered by Amador school officials in September, leading the district to cancel the program’s next game, a nonleague home contest against Rosemont High of the Sacramento City Unified School District.
The district days later canceled the season, stating that it needed more than 30 days to conduct a full investigation, thus rocking a community that passionately follows its football program. The Buffaloes first fielded varsity football teams in the 1920s.
In 2018, the program went a school-record 14-2 and reached the CIF State 6-AA championship.
Amador High went 10-2 in 2019, did not play like anyone else in the COVID-canceled fall of 2020 and dipped to 0-10 in 2021. The Buffaloes were 0-4 this fall.
The suspended season came on the eve of the Mother Lode League schedule, leaving Sonora, Bret Harte of Angels Camp, Calaveras of San Andreas and Argonaut of Jackson with a hole in their schedules that most were not able to replace.
Not only did student-athletes miss out on games, there was a financial hit for Amador and those that could not replace the Buffaloes on the schedule. Home football games are a money maker through ticket sales and concession stands to help fund all athletic programs on a campus.
The letter said in part that the district took canceling the season “seriously as we know the impact a decision like this has on our students, families and the greater Amador County community. As you are aware, given the severity of the allegations, the decision was made to hire a third-party investigator in order to gain a clear perspective on multiple issues reported. While we are limited in what details can be provided due to privacy laws, it is important to share our findings.”
The first point of emphasis outlined in the statement was on the antisemitic and homophobic speech that the district said was conducted as “an Amador football function” and added that “language of this nature goes against our mission and will not be tolerated.”
The second point in the statement was about bullying. The investigation, the statement said, “revealed a culture of bullying behavior exists among some individuals with the Amador varsity football program. This cannot continue.”
The investigation also revealed that there were concerns on the Amador campus about Title IX, the law that mandates gender equity, including in high school sports. Though this part of the investigation wasn’t tied to the troubling group chat, the district said it will “ensure the systems are in place to support equal access to all students.”
The final point was about allegations of hazing within the varsity football program. The investigation and local law enforcement “concluded that it was not a hazing incident, rather the incident occurred at a private birthday party and was not associated with an Amador football event,” the statement said.
Gibson concluded her statement with, “We will use this experience as an opportunity to learn and grow so that we can provide the most supportive and safe environment for all. I encourage and ask you if you see something, say something.”
The region’s high school sports governing body, the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, has not imposed penalties on the Amador football program or the school’s athletic department because this was a school and district matter.
This story was originally published November 20, 2022 at 3:04 PM.