Report: Johnny Martin is among 17 Highland football players suspended for Friday night game
The Courier Post said an unnamed source close to the situation said the issue involved a video on social media of a fight.
The Highland football team on Friday night lost to visiting Burlington Township, 14-7, without 17 players who were suspended, the Courier Post reported online. The report said Highland athletic director Frank Torcasio confirmed the suspensions but would not disclose how many players were disciplined or why.
When contacted by The Inquirer, Torcasio declined comment. The Courier Post reported that star running back Johnny Martin was one of the suspended players. Martin also declined comment when contacted by The Inquirer.
The Courier Post reported that an unnamed source close to the situation said a video surfaced last week on social media of a fight. The source also said that four players were “kicked off” the team. The report did not say whether any players were involved in the fight or shown in the video.
The report said that Highland coach Brian Leary did not confirm who was suspended or how many players were involved. But he did say that no players had been removed from the team and that school officials were addressing the issue.
It is unclear, the report said, how long any suspensions may last.
The Tartans, No. 8 in The Inquirer’s South Jersey football rankings, were 5-1 and 3-0 in the West Jersey Football League Liberty Division before Friday’s loss. Martin, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound junior running back, is fielding college scholarship offers from Temple, Rutgers, Baylor, West Virginia and Syracuse.