Piner High School in Santa Rosa, Calif. on March 2024.
Piner High School in Santa Rosa, Calif. on March 2024.
A North Bay high school football program forfeited its upcoming game just one day after students led a walkout to protest a comment made by the team’s captain.
Santa Rosa’s Piner Junior Senior High School forfeited its Saturday afternoon matchup against San Anselmo’s Archie Williams High School, according to a report from Gus Morris of the Press Democrat. The reported reason for the forfeit, which was confirmed Friday evening, is a lack of healthy players. Head coach Adam Rosenstein told Morris that the team had just five healthy lineman. Many schools across California and the Bay Area have run into similar issues as football participation rates have dwindled.
However, the football team has had bigger issues than a lack of available bodies. Earlier this month, a captain on the school’s football team posted, “Free the Cornell 7,” on Instagram. The “Cornell 7” has been used to describe the seven students accused of gang raping a Cornell University student at a fraternity party in 2024.
More than 200 Piner students staged a walkout Friday to protest the lack of accountability that the student faced for his post. An anonymous cheerleader parent told the Press Democrat that the captain who made the post was not allowed to attend a team dinner that took place Thursday, but did not know whether he faced any other consequences.
The walkout comes during a week when many protests took place across the country in response to Cornell’s alleged botched investigation into the rape allegations that have become national news. They happened in cities such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore and Orlando.
As for the football team, the Prospectors fall to 2-4 on the season after the forfeit, and 0-2 in conference play.