GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia High School Association has made its ruling regarding the on-field altercation during the third quarter of the second-round Class 5A playoff game between Gainesville and Brunswick.
The Gainesville Athletics Department announced the ruling via press release on Monday afternoon.
In the release, the GHSA has suspended 39 Gainesville football team members for “violating sportsmanship and sideline control bylaws, including players leaving the bench area during the incident.”
Gainesville Superintendent Jeremy Williams said the school will be appealing the decision. Gainesville athletics director Adam Lindsey said the appeal will be on Tuesday morning.
“While we typically do not condone this type of behavior, we will not sit back and watch our teammates be assaulted by ripping off helmets, punching, and barreling over a helmet-less player,” Williams said. “The large majority of our team entered the field with the intent to separate and resolve the incident, not escalate. Every true team would do the same. It’s disappointing that a hard-line interpretation of the rule was applied, and we will be appealing.”
Gainesville is set to travel to Langston-Hughes on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state playoffs.
Gainesville was leading 42-0 with 1:57 to go in the third quarter when the altercation happened. In the videos circulating on various social media platforms, players from both sides left the sidelines.
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