Fallout from a September on-field fight between high school football teams in Maryland continues, as athletic department personnel from both schools have been fired.
Nearly a month after the incident took place Sept. 16 at Gaithersburg High School came an announcement this week that the athletic specialist position at that school will be vacated, as will the head coach and assistant coach positions at Northwest High School. As reported by NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., the terminations were announced Wednesday in a letter to parents and students signed by the principals of both schools.
However, the positions won't be vacated until the end of the football season, when school officials will make announcements about the process to fill the openings later this year, according to the letter.
The fight led to the forfeiting of two games for both teams. After the game was called off, another clash among police and spectators led to assault charges against six juveniles and a 19-year-old man, WRS-TV reported. Montgomery County Public Schools promptly revised its security protocols for subsequent games.
Related: Maryland High School Enacts New Security Plan After Brawl at Football Game
Northwest High School head coach Travis Hawkins was placed on a 24-day suspension while the school system conducted an investigation.
Gaithersburg athletic director William Gant filed a misdemeanor assault charge against Hawkins after the brawl.
Related: High School Football Coach Faces Assault Charges for Part in Brawl
"I feel like everything that I've been working to build has just been thrown away," Hawkins said. "I want to apologize to my school. I want to apologize to my community. I want to apologize to the admin. My kids know that I don't condone violence. I don't condone myself with unsportsmanlike conduct."
