MECHANICSVILLE, Va. -- Mechanicsville High School Principal Charles Stevens put out a note to parents and staff on Tuesday about the ongoing investigation into hazing allegations within the football program.
On August 24, the high school announced that it suspended both its varsity and JV football teams until further notice as the Hanover County Sheriff's office continues their investigation into the allegations.
The Mustangs have not practiced since August 19. This week’s game against Powhatan, scheduled for Thursday night, has been canceled.
However, Stevens did provide an update on when the season might resume for the team.
While we are disappointed to have to cancel this week’s games, I can share with you that we are hopeful to be able to share more details on a timeline to resume football activities no later than Friday.
We remain sensitive to the impact this situation has had on our football teams and the entire school community. We know this is upsetting. It’s upsetting to us too. We want nothing more than for our players to be back on the field as quickly as possible. The fact is that serious allegations have been made, and we have one chance to get this right. It is imperative that we take a thoughtful, deliberate approach to ensure we have a full accounting of what took place. The only way to accomplish this is to allow the important work to be done, and this takes time. At the end of the day, this is about the safety of our students, which is our top priority. We simply cannot rush this process.
Thank you for your understanding during this time and for your continued support of our school and football program.
Stevens also sent a phone message regarding the investigation on late Thursday to parents of football players at the school apologizing for the "critical oversight" of "not sending more formal communication sooner regarding the misconduct concerns."
Mechanicsville already canceled their season opener against Deep Run last week. Their next scheduled game is September 9 at Douglas Freeman
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