Sheldon football will finish season but without 4 team captains, 7 assistants and head coach
The beleaguered Sheldon Huskies football team will play its Delta League finale on Friday night against Laguna Creek, capping a trying week for the Elk Grove Unified School District program that is divided and needs a victory to help secure a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth.
On Monday, longtime Huskies coach Chris Nixon was ordered to turn in his keys by athletic director Jason Bumbaca and the administration, though the school and the district office continue to decline to clarify to players or to The Sacramento Bee whether or not the beloved coach is suspended or terminated for his role in a heated exchange with Bumbaca following last Friday’s game against Elk Grove. That exchange was rooted in Nixon being angrily confronted by a parent over playing time.
Bumbaca sent an email to Sheldon parents this week that read in part, “Coach Nixon will not be at practice this week or the game on Friday. Please know that your students are okay and that there is no alarm necessary regarding student safety,” and finished the note with “I thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.”
Twelve of the team’s 30-man roster showed up to Monday’s practice, the rest declining to participate out of support of Nixon. Practice was canceled. On Tuesday, 11 came to practice, and practice was again canceled.
Sheldon principal Leticia Bucio met with the Sheldon varsity team before practice on Wednesday in a classroom on campus for a show of hands on how many players would suit up, a session in which she reiterated that she could not discuss Nixon’s status, The Bee has learned. She encouraged players to play the game while hearing players express support for Nixon.
The Elk Grove Unified District office emailed The Bee to say that any inquiry into Nixon’s status, “relates to a confidential personnel matter, and for this reason the district is unable to comment further. However, please know that the Sheldon football program will continue and finish the season.”
Sheldon will have a team, but a thinned-out one at Cosumnes River College for Laguna Creek’s Senior Night. Four Sheldon team captains and five two-way players will not suit up, seven players total, in their stand for Nixon. None of the season-long seven assistant varsity coaches will be at the game, either, their own choice in backing Nixon, though Bumbaca had asked them to coach this week. Five Sheldon assistant coaches played for Nixon, either at Elk Grove High or at Sheldon, and longtime line coach Steve Blum has been coaching with Nixon since 2008.
Bumbaca will be the acting coach for Sheldon, flanked by faculty members and coaches from other sports in an effort to support the team of players who want to finish the campaign. Sheldon has a 4-5 record in a season wracked by injuries. Four wins are the minimum needed to secure a playoff berth, but four victories does not guarantee a postseason spot. Five wins enhances the argument.
Laguna Creek is also fighting for a playoff spot. The Cardinals are 3-5 with two regular-season games remaining. Sheldon has an off-week bye on Nov. 1. Laguna Creek coaches and athletic personnel were concerned enough that the Sheldon game might not happen that it prompted a search for teams that had an opening, including Armijo of Fairfield and Hiram Johnson of Sacramento.
Nixon approached twice by angry parents
A number of witnesses, including players and assistant coaches and fans, told The Bee that Nixon was confronted by a cursing parent of a Sheldon player after the Elk Grove contest. The man walked onto the field after the game concluded, which is normally not allowed in prep events to prevent confrontation or chaos.
Nixon initially wasn’t sure who the man was. Assistant coaches urged Bumbaca to come over for help. Nixon’s angst toward Bumbaca, Sheldon players and assistant coaches told The Bee, was regarding how fans could so easily get onto the field to confront coaches. This happened earlier in the season when a parent berated the coach over playing time for her son.
Sheldon’s principal and athletic director have declined comment to The Bee for any updates or to even confirm that the team will play. Nixon said to The Bee only that he is “appreciative for all my players and our fantastic coaching staff.” He said he has been moved by an outpouring of support from scores of regional coaches who reached out via texts, emails or calls.
Nixon has been a big name in regional football circles since the late 1990s, when he was the offensive coordinator for the finest teams in the history of the Elk Grove Unified, the Elk Grove High teams that went a combined 27-1 in 1997 and ‘98. Nixon later coached Elk Grove High to championship seasons. He has been the head coach at Sheldon since 2020, leading three playoff teams and a winning record during the spring-shortened COVID season.
This might be his fourth playoff group, but will he be allowed to coach the team again?
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 11:42 AM.