Colorado High School Sexting Scandal Costs Football Team Its Playoff Spot

Cañon City High School is just like most other high schools in the country, in that it’s full of libidinous teenagers and has a football team. Unfortunately for fans of the Cañon City Tigers, those two factors intersected and ultimately cost the football team its shot at a playoff spot, as a wave of suspensions in the wake of a massive sexting scandal forced the football team to forfeit its crucial rivalry game against Discovery Canyon. This loss most likely knocked the team out of playoff contention.

It all started Wednesday, as Cañon City School District officials released information regarding a “sexting ring” at the high school that had been swapping nudes. According to superintendent George Welsh, at least 100 kids were involved, including half the football team. Officials are still sifting through the evidence (uh) and determining to what degree they will pursue punishment for any overage students possessing photos of minors.

The district released a statement about the scandal. Below is an excerpt that concerns the decision to forfeit the game:

Because a large number of our high school football players were implicated in this behavior the coaching staff and administration, after careful thought and consideration, decided that stepping on the field to play this weekend to represent the Cañon City community is just not an option. We realize this decision will unfairly penalize many of our fine young men who clearly did not participate in these actions. However, we concluded it was impossible to safely field an entire team representative of the personal qualities and characteristics that truly represent the history of the Cañon City High School football program.

[ NBC News]