One of the CRAZIEST stories you'll ever see. Bishop Sycamore, an alleged fake high school, reportedly lied to ESPN to get on national television.
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High School Football Team May Have Lied to ESPN to Play on National TV (UPDATE)
Aug 30, 2021
Image via Getty/John Jones/Icon Sportswire
UPDATED 8/29, 4:20 p.m. ET: New details about Bishop Sycamore emerged Monday. It turns out, the team also played a game on Friday, which made Sunday’s game its second in just three days.
According to Awful Announcing, the game was scheduled by Paragon Marketing Group, whose president, Rashid Ghazi, denied having knowledge of Bishop Sycamore’s Friday game. Ghazi also said the company did not do due diligence in researching the team.
“We regret that this happened and have discussed it with Paragon, which secured the matchup and handles the majority of our high school event scheduling,” ESPN said in an official statement. “They have ensured us that they will take steps to prevent this kind of situation from happening moving forward.”
The outlet also confirmed that the Ohio High School Athletic Association doesn’t recognize Bishop Sycamore as a legitimate high school, and their “physical location, practice facilities, and roster eligibility could not be verified.”
The team’s head coach, Roy Johnson, also allegedly has an active arrest warrant thanks to fraud charges, while many of their players are said to have already graduated high school, which essentially means a bunch of adults got rolled by some high school kids.
See original story below.
It’s been a rough week for ESPN.
After announcing that one of its biggest stars, Rachel Nichols, would be removed from all NBA coverage after the fallout from the Maria Taylor tape, the network appears to have been duped by a high school football team.
On Sunday, ESPN aired a high school football game between Florida’s IMG Academy and Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore. Anyone who watched the game could see as plain as day that IMG Academy is good, and Bishop Sycamore is bad. Like, really bad.
While we’ve seen mismatched opponents square off in nationally televised games before, this was something different entirely. IMG are defending national champs and consistently one of the best teams in the country. Apparently ESPN was under the impression that Bishop’s program was also stacked with top recruits.
That clearly wasn’t the case. Bishop was so clearly outmatched, and ended up getting torched 58-0. But what makes this story even more insane is the way the game’s announcers react in real time when they realize that they’ve been had. In fact, they genuinely seem concerned for the safety of the Bishop players, who as they put it, were not engaged in a “fair fight.”
They also admitted live on the air that they had been misled by Bishop, and didn’t due do diligence to verify that what they had been told about the calibre of players was true. “Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster,” broadcaster Anif Shroff said. “To be frank, a lot of that we could not verify.” He then apologized and elaborated on Twitter:
To make matters worse, Bishop Sycamore might not even be a real high school. As FootballScoop points out, it appears to be an online-only charter school with a website that resembles a blog. The team went 0-6 last season, and was routinely blown out. With all this information readily available online, it’s unclear why or how ESPN agreed to air the game in the first place.
www.complex.com
Aug 30, 2021
Image via Getty/John Jones/Icon Sportswire
UPDATED 8/29, 4:20 p.m. ET: New details about Bishop Sycamore emerged Monday. It turns out, the team also played a game on Friday, which made Sunday’s game its second in just three days.
According to Awful Announcing, the game was scheduled by Paragon Marketing Group, whose president, Rashid Ghazi, denied having knowledge of Bishop Sycamore’s Friday game. Ghazi also said the company did not do due diligence in researching the team.
“We regret that this happened and have discussed it with Paragon, which secured the matchup and handles the majority of our high school event scheduling,” ESPN said in an official statement. “They have ensured us that they will take steps to prevent this kind of situation from happening moving forward.”
The outlet also confirmed that the Ohio High School Athletic Association doesn’t recognize Bishop Sycamore as a legitimate high school, and their “physical location, practice facilities, and roster eligibility could not be verified.”
The team’s head coach, Roy Johnson, also allegedly has an active arrest warrant thanks to fraud charges, while many of their players are said to have already graduated high school, which essentially means a bunch of adults got rolled by some high school kids.
See original story below.
It’s been a rough week for ESPN.
After announcing that one of its biggest stars, Rachel Nichols, would be removed from all NBA coverage after the fallout from the Maria Taylor tape, the network appears to have been duped by a high school football team.
On Sunday, ESPN aired a high school football game between Florida’s IMG Academy and Ohio’s Bishop Sycamore. Anyone who watched the game could see as plain as day that IMG Academy is good, and Bishop Sycamore is bad. Like, really bad.
While we’ve seen mismatched opponents square off in nationally televised games before, this was something different entirely. IMG are defending national champs and consistently one of the best teams in the country. Apparently ESPN was under the impression that Bishop’s program was also stacked with top recruits.
That clearly wasn’t the case. Bishop was so clearly outmatched, and ended up getting torched 58-0. But what makes this story even more insane is the way the game’s announcers react in real time when they realize that they’ve been had. In fact, they genuinely seem concerned for the safety of the Bishop players, who as they put it, were not engaged in a “fair fight.”
They also admitted live on the air that they had been misled by Bishop, and didn’t due do diligence to verify that what they had been told about the calibre of players was true. “Bishop Sycamore told us they had a number of Division I prospects on their roster,” broadcaster Anif Shroff said. “To be frank, a lot of that we could not verify.” He then apologized and elaborated on Twitter:
To make matters worse, Bishop Sycamore might not even be a real high school. As FootballScoop points out, it appears to be an online-only charter school with a website that resembles a blog. The team went 0-6 last season, and was routinely blown out. With all this information readily available online, it’s unclear why or how ESPN agreed to air the game in the first place.
High School Football Team May Have Lied to ESPN to Play o...
On Sunday, ESPN aired a high school football game between...
I’m just peeping this and this is the wildest shit that I’ve seen.
this is the fryre fest of football
this documentary is going to be lit
this is the fryre fest of football
this documentary is going to be lit
Which is the second point. Why cheat and suck?
Hold up now… this video here was 10 months ago
So IMG played them last year… so is IMG in on this.. is this some Washington Generals shit
So IMG played them last year… so is IMG in on this.. is this some Washington Generals shit
Bishop Sycamore as being based out of Columbus, Ohio. It’s an online-only charter school. The school’s “website,” which deserves mocking quotations, has a blank page in its “about us” section, makes zero mention of education whatsoever, but does have a blog ... that’s basically a recipe for football players to get noticed by recruiters.
Ok I might have to retract some shit… If what I’m reading holds up… apologies might have be given.
Basically it is a Washington general situation but like we always say there is another side to the story.
30 for 30 created their own original programming.
My question is…
It’s clear that Bishop Sycamore played IMg last year… to obviously be their Washington generals..
so why are blaming Bishop sycamore for ESPN choosing to televise their game.. all they had to do was go to YouTube search on IMg YouTube page and see their game 10 months ago…
It’s clear that Bishop Sycamore played IMg last year… to obviously be their Washington generals..
so why are blaming Bishop sycamore for ESPN choosing to televise their game.. all they had to do was go to YouTube search on IMg YouTube page and see their game 10 months ago…
ESPN and IMG need the blame on this one…
I see what you did there.
but IMg played them last year… How did Bishop scam them… shouldn’t IMG be to the blame to..
I’ve got questions now
ESPN is blaming a 3rd party recruiter that books HS games for the channel
Wait-a-minute, these actual high schools don't have scouts?
One week ago
These other coaches/ADs are complicit.
One week ago
These other coaches/ADs are complicit.
How is this any different from all those other here today, gone tomorrow, prep schools? It's so many of them like that. These prep schools is just extended AAU... AAU that takes classes on the side.
Last edited:
I just could never find this funny
same it is just making fun of black people names and accents. Its not a surprise its one of the most shared clips from the show, white people love that skietch.
A Former Bishop Sycamore Football Player Exposes the Dark Secrets of the Program
Follow Zion on Twitter @zbolojede.
Aug 30, 2021
Image via Getty
The story of Bishop Sycamore might be the craziest sports anecdote of 2021. An alleged “fake” high school from Columbus, Ohio set the Internet ablaze after the school fooled ESPN into airing one of its games against powerhouse IMG academy by telling them they had several Division I athletes on their roster. ESPN announcers admitted on the broadcast that they couldn’t confirm that information and seemed to be the first of many alleged lies told by Bishop Sycamore. Several issues like age concerns, playing two games in a span of three days, and even their coach allegedly having an arrest rose to the surface.
Not to mention, the school was previously known as COF Academy before getting shut down in 2018. Aaron Boyd, who claims to be the first ever player recruited by Bishop Sycamore, has been exposing the dark secrets of Bishop Sycamore ever since he left.
“Everybody that knows me already knows this,” Boyd told Complex. “It’s just the fact now it’s on a greater scale, I have to say something.”
Indeed, Boyd had plenty to say. From the recruiting lies to the lack of education to the inhumane living conditions, he is exposing it all. We talked to the former Bishop Sycamore player about the dark secrets behind the program.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
So what years did you play there?
I played there my junior year of high school. I played there 2018-19 season. I was 15 going on 16.
Image via Aaron Boyd
How’d you find out about them?
Before they were Bishop Sycamore, they were COF Academy. They had these coaches come from COF. I was at an Adidas All-American camp and they came and recruited me.
But why did you go there? What appealed to you about that school?
At first, they had like brochures and a plan. N*gga, they sent me books with like shit on how the school was supposed to look. Blueprints and everything. They told us we was gonna be on Netflix, they recruited us telling us we were gonna be on a show. They told us we’re gonna be the IMG of the Midwest. They lied to me and my mama.
Image via Aaron Boyd
Was this a relocation for you?
Yeah, I had to move out of my city.
So when you got there, what was the campus like? Did they even have a building at the time?
There was no building. Aight, listen to this. This is the crazy shit, this what you wanna hear. I first moved out there, we were staying in a hotel in Delaware [Ohio]. We were staying there for like five months.
Five months?
Five months. Didn’t have no housing. All the players came to find out, we never paid the hotel. [The school was] writing them bounced checks. The head coach of Bishop Sycamore wasn’t the head coach. He was like an athletic director. He was the n*gga that was behind all of it. He was writing bounced checks for everything. For everything. We never paid for anything.
Image via Aaron Boyd
I saw that there allegedly was an arrest warrant for fraud charges, so that’s accurate to you?
Yeah, that’s accurate. I didn’t know what the warrant was for but if it’s for writing bounced checks that’s accurate. This man scammed a whole church. We had funding from a church, that’s how we were doing everything from the beginning.
I heard that people have been writing stories but why did it take so long to blow up? Why didn’t you say something?
Everybody that knows me, already knows this. It’s just the fact now it’s on a greater scale, I have to say something. I got friends to this day that’s way older than me. Mind you, when I was there, I was 15—everybody else there was 19 and 20. I was the first person to ever get recruited for this school.
What did y’all do for education?
We didn’t go to school. We never went to school. I can’t lie, they tried once. They took us to a community library. One day. It was already October—the season was about to be over. It was like at this point, “Well, shit, I’m not going to school. Y’all haven’t put me through school this whole time.”
How accurate was the report that they’re bringing JUCO kids back to high school? That’s accurate?
Bruh, I don’t know about JUCO kids, but I tell you I was 15 and everybody else was 19 and 20. I got videos on my phone right now. Whatever you want to see, I got videos of. People sleeping on the floor. N*gga, we didn’t have practice, we just went to games. You see how it said they played two games in three days, we really did that. We ain’t practice, we just went to games.
Was there any times y’all built team camaraderie before going on the field?
We all lived in a hotel together for five months. We all moved in, in July before the school started. From July to about mid-August, everybody thought it was legit because shit, we all just thought we were staying in a hotel because there was no school. We were going to practice at some nice-ass practice facility. We had 10 coaches. One coach for every position. From mid-August to mid-September, we had two coaches left and a team mom because everybody found out they wasn’t getting paid. There was one coach who stuck it out to the end because he had to. If he left, we would’ve had nobody.
So why didn’t you just bounce?
I left after my junior year. I went back to high school.
Is that what happened for most people?
Most people were already out of high school so it didn’t really affect them. I know me and this other kid ended up at rival high schools. That shit ruined a lot of shit. It’s sad to see. I wouldn’t say all they players are JUCO. I know some kids that are seniors in high school and now their senior year is gone. That’s how it was for me. My junior year was taken away from me. Everything I did my junior year didn’t matter because I was on a fraudulent team.
Did you have to redo your classes when you got back to school?
Bruh, I had to come back and redo my whole junior year and I had to do it in time so I could play football my senior year.
How’d your mom react?
I moved so far. My mom couldn’t watch over me. I was telling her I was going to school. I was telling her what they were telling me to tell her. “We gon start school next week, we gon start school next week.” After October, I lost all hope. That shit was sad.
What’s the craziest thing that happened while you were there?
There’s shit I could say, but I don’t really want to. N*gga, for the last month and a half, we had about 35 players. We moved into these new houses. For that month and a half, we was all sleeping on the floor. We had to go rob Meijers, Krogers, Walmart because that’s the only way we can eat.
That’s crazy
It’s crazy but I can think of shit that’s crazier than that. Sleeping on the floor and doing all that shit, that don’t get to me. N*ggas almost got stabbed in there. We had players from every borough of New York. Then we had players from inner city Columbus. That’s where I’m from. Everything didn’t mix especially with no supervision.
You put all those personalities together and it could boil up.
Yeah, and plus, at the end of the day, these n*ggas not high schoolers. They’re grown men and they from New York [laughs].
It’s crazy that this can happen in 2021.
It’s been happening for years, since 2018.
www.complex.com
Follow Zion on Twitter @zbolojede.
Aug 30, 2021
Image via Getty
The story of Bishop Sycamore might be the craziest sports anecdote of 2021. An alleged “fake” high school from Columbus, Ohio set the Internet ablaze after the school fooled ESPN into airing one of its games against powerhouse IMG academy by telling them they had several Division I athletes on their roster. ESPN announcers admitted on the broadcast that they couldn’t confirm that information and seemed to be the first of many alleged lies told by Bishop Sycamore. Several issues like age concerns, playing two games in a span of three days, and even their coach allegedly having an arrest rose to the surface.
Not to mention, the school was previously known as COF Academy before getting shut down in 2018. Aaron Boyd, who claims to be the first ever player recruited by Bishop Sycamore, has been exposing the dark secrets of Bishop Sycamore ever since he left.
“Everybody that knows me already knows this,” Boyd told Complex. “It’s just the fact now it’s on a greater scale, I have to say something.”
Indeed, Boyd had plenty to say. From the recruiting lies to the lack of education to the inhumane living conditions, he is exposing it all. We talked to the former Bishop Sycamore player about the dark secrets behind the program.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)
So what years did you play there?
I played there my junior year of high school. I played there 2018-19 season. I was 15 going on 16.
Image via Aaron Boyd
How’d you find out about them?
Before they were Bishop Sycamore, they were COF Academy. They had these coaches come from COF. I was at an Adidas All-American camp and they came and recruited me.
But why did you go there? What appealed to you about that school?
At first, they had like brochures and a plan. N*gga, they sent me books with like shit on how the school was supposed to look. Blueprints and everything. They told us we was gonna be on Netflix, they recruited us telling us we were gonna be on a show. They told us we’re gonna be the IMG of the Midwest. They lied to me and my mama.
Image via Aaron Boyd
Was this a relocation for you?
Yeah, I had to move out of my city.
So when you got there, what was the campus like? Did they even have a building at the time?
There was no building. Aight, listen to this. This is the crazy shit, this what you wanna hear. I first moved out there, we were staying in a hotel in Delaware [Ohio]. We were staying there for like five months.
Five months?
Five months. Didn’t have no housing. All the players came to find out, we never paid the hotel. [The school was] writing them bounced checks. The head coach of Bishop Sycamore wasn’t the head coach. He was like an athletic director. He was the n*gga that was behind all of it. He was writing bounced checks for everything. For everything. We never paid for anything.
Image via Aaron Boyd
I saw that there allegedly was an arrest warrant for fraud charges, so that’s accurate to you?
Yeah, that’s accurate. I didn’t know what the warrant was for but if it’s for writing bounced checks that’s accurate. This man scammed a whole church. We had funding from a church, that’s how we were doing everything from the beginning.
I heard that people have been writing stories but why did it take so long to blow up? Why didn’t you say something?
Everybody that knows me, already knows this. It’s just the fact now it’s on a greater scale, I have to say something. I got friends to this day that’s way older than me. Mind you, when I was there, I was 15—everybody else there was 19 and 20. I was the first person to ever get recruited for this school.
What did y’all do for education?
We didn’t go to school. We never went to school. I can’t lie, they tried once. They took us to a community library. One day. It was already October—the season was about to be over. It was like at this point, “Well, shit, I’m not going to school. Y’all haven’t put me through school this whole time.”
How accurate was the report that they’re bringing JUCO kids back to high school? That’s accurate?
Bruh, I don’t know about JUCO kids, but I tell you I was 15 and everybody else was 19 and 20. I got videos on my phone right now. Whatever you want to see, I got videos of. People sleeping on the floor. N*gga, we didn’t have practice, we just went to games. You see how it said they played two games in three days, we really did that. We ain’t practice, we just went to games.
Was there any times y’all built team camaraderie before going on the field?
We all lived in a hotel together for five months. We all moved in, in July before the school started. From July to about mid-August, everybody thought it was legit because shit, we all just thought we were staying in a hotel because there was no school. We were going to practice at some nice-ass practice facility. We had 10 coaches. One coach for every position. From mid-August to mid-September, we had two coaches left and a team mom because everybody found out they wasn’t getting paid. There was one coach who stuck it out to the end because he had to. If he left, we would’ve had nobody.
So why didn’t you just bounce?
I left after my junior year. I went back to high school.
Is that what happened for most people?
Most people were already out of high school so it didn’t really affect them. I know me and this other kid ended up at rival high schools. That shit ruined a lot of shit. It’s sad to see. I wouldn’t say all they players are JUCO. I know some kids that are seniors in high school and now their senior year is gone. That’s how it was for me. My junior year was taken away from me. Everything I did my junior year didn’t matter because I was on a fraudulent team.
Did you have to redo your classes when you got back to school?
Bruh, I had to come back and redo my whole junior year and I had to do it in time so I could play football my senior year.
How’d your mom react?
I moved so far. My mom couldn’t watch over me. I was telling her I was going to school. I was telling her what they were telling me to tell her. “We gon start school next week, we gon start school next week.” After October, I lost all hope. That shit was sad.
What’s the craziest thing that happened while you were there?
There’s shit I could say, but I don’t really want to. N*gga, for the last month and a half, we had about 35 players. We moved into these new houses. For that month and a half, we was all sleeping on the floor. We had to go rob Meijers, Krogers, Walmart because that’s the only way we can eat.
That’s crazy
It’s crazy but I can think of shit that’s crazier than that. Sleeping on the floor and doing all that shit, that don’t get to me. N*ggas almost got stabbed in there. We had players from every borough of New York. Then we had players from inner city Columbus. That’s where I’m from. Everything didn’t mix especially with no supervision.
You put all those personalities together and it could boil up.
Yeah, and plus, at the end of the day, these n*ggas not high schoolers. They’re grown men and they from New York [laughs].
It’s crazy that this can happen in 2021.
It’s been happening for years, since 2018.
A Former Bishop Sycamore Football Player Exposes the Dark...
A former Bishop Sycamore football player shares insights ...
No one cared because they didn't win any games. They were playing against stacked high school teams that recruit nationally. Seems fair to me.
As for their players being 18-21, I know plenty of people at that age that wish they could still play football.
As for their players being 18-21, I know plenty of people at that age that wish they could still play football.
probably skimming money from the donations to the church. They had to steal food from a grocery store, so no food budget. Or that money never went to the players. Coaches paychecks bounced. So that money was being pocketed. Players sleeping on the floor. So skimping on hotel rooms. Money in the pocket.
dude probably rolled up to the church like homeboy selling monorails on the simpsons.
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