Hundreds of students, parents and alumni walked out of Morgan Park High School Tuesday morning after the school’s football coach is out after a winning season.
As soon as word got out that the coach was out, parents started organizing, saying they want answers for their kids.
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The Morgan Park Mustangs had a strong season, winning back-to-back city titles.
And despite losing in the state playoffs, players thought they had one more Friday night together during the Prep Bowl semifinal.
“It’s really sad,” freshman football player Owmar Robinson said. “We were sad when we lost our game and then we thought we were going to play like 3 more games with the seniors but now we can’t even do that so that really broke my heart for real.”
In an email to football families Monday, the principal said the team couldn’t play Friday because of the change in leadership.
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The principal said James had told families this would be his last season at Morgan Park and that he’d accepted another coaching job.
But in a post on Instagram, James said he never resigned or accepted another job.
He said he told the school he’d decide his future at the end of the season and that the school asked him to turn in his keys and relieved him of his duties.
“I’m a little bit upset because I was excited even if I was performing or not because I was going to go,” sophomore poms performer Joselyn Jones said.
The school also canceled the rest of the team’s practices.
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The athletic director is expected to follow up with families about returning equipment.
Football mom Maritza Morales said it felt like the decision came out of left field.
“They’re devastated,” she said. “They’re hurt. They’re confused. They don’t know what’s going on. They are trying to figure out what they did wrong. And they didn’t do anything wrong. They did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
Parents are also frustrated they can no longer access film from the games.
“It’s about the boys,” football mom Lauren Waithe said. “To take them out of the rest of their football season. You have seniors that are depending on scholarships to go to school. Horrible.”
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The controversy is garnering attention from alumni like state Representative Kam Buckner… who played with James at Morgan Park and in college.
In a post on social media he wrote… “our young men deserve answers.”
Chicago Public Schools said principals make personnel decisions and the district doesn’t comment on those matters.
“We just want answers,” Morales said. “We want to figure out what’s going on and why we can’t participate in the Prep Bowl. Why did you decide to do that in the middle of the season when we still had a chance to win another title.”
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The coach just released a new statement Tuesday also urging the school to make sure the kids have access to their game films for recruiting purposes.
The school wants to name a new coach by Jan. 1 and says it will ask players and families for input.
Morgan Park lost in the playoffs to Providence Catholic. They too fired their coach mid-season, despite a winning record.
CPS said in a statement, “Chicago Public Schools understands the importance of the HUDL software and its crucial role in game planning, streaming, scouting and recruiting to support potential college scholarships. Morgan Park’s HUDL subscription expired this week, causing a temporary loss of access for all users. Morgan Park administration, with support from the District, is working with the company this afternoon to renew its subscription and restore access to the platform as soon as possible.”
