Edinburgh cancels football season due to lack of players, some believe racial harassment played a part

EDINBURGH, Ind. — The football field at Edinburgh High School won’t be seeing any more action this year after the school decided to cancel the rest of the football season.

The reason? Principal Kevin Rockey said the team had so few players that it was becoming a safety issue.

“It’s been a long time in the making,” Rockey said during an interview on Wednesday. “Last Friday, we were away and we had probably two kids on the sideline that weren’t injured against teams that have 40 and 60 and lots and lots of players, kind of thing.”

The team started the year in the low 20s, but Rockey said they’re now sitting in the low teens. He said most of that is due to injuries.

“We had to make that difficult decision and it wasn’t easy because these are some great kids who want to get out there and make an effort,” Rockey said. “But it’s just not safe for us to play some of the teams we’re gonna be playing here in the future.”

While the school explained its reason, some in the small community remain skeptical.

Last month, the homecoming game was canceled after a harassment complaint was filed by a Black player. The family of that player told The Indianapolis Star that they were scared to return.

He recounted to the paper how he was told that other players were planning to “jump” him at a practice. The teen said he was also sent a video of two teammates saying “kill all ni****s.”

“I don’t think it’s a culture,” Edinburgh resident Doug Cheek said. “I believe it’s an isolated incident.”

Cheek said he believes the team’s morale has likely taken a hit since the racism allegations were revealed. He believes it’s a small group of hateful people who are driving some away.

“I’ve only experienced love here, you know everyone gets along,” Cheek said. “Maybe love needs to be more of a thing at the dinner table than hate.”

Edinburgh Police said they are investigating the student’s harassment complaint. Messages to the department seeking an update on the investigation went unanswered.

When asked about the incident’s effect on the team, Rockey declined to comment.

“I don’t really have any comment about that,” he said. “Numbers-wise, we can’t do what we had out there to be safe and that is really the priority for us.”

As for the teams they were scheduled to play, those games will likely be canceled unless the other schools can find a replacement opponent.