Since the on-court fight between Camden and Eastside basketball teams, this player has not been allowed back to school

An Eastside High School basketball player has not been allowed back in school since a fight that broke out during a game against Camden High School ended the season for both teams.

Titus Bacon, who says he was hit first by an opposing player during the Feb. 16 altercation that made headlines, said the district has refused to allow him to return to the Charles Brimm Medical Arts High School, located on the same campus as Camden High, because of safety concerns. But Bacon said there was “no bad blood” between him and any Camden High players, and he wants to finish out his senior year at Brimm, attending the prom, the senior class trip, and other activities with his peers.

The on-court fight broke out during a Camden County tournament game between the archrivals. Bacon, who plays on Eastside because there’s no basketball team at Brimm, said he was twice elbowed and then fought back. Players and spectators rushed onto the court and referees halted the game.

A day later, Camden School Superintendent Katrina McCombs withdrew both schools from the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association’s playoffs tournament, saying she wanted to make it a “learning experience” for both schools. The NJSIAA said it would have likely disqualified both teams if she hadn’t acted.

Bacon’s family members said they told McCombs, in the heat of the moment following the game, that they wanted him transferred from Brimm. They said soon after they informed her they changed their minds, but the district has proceeded with the transfer.

Camden County School Superintendent Carmen Rodriguez confirmed that her office is investigating the transfer. Rodriguez, a Camden native and Eastside High graduate, declined further comment.

McCombs has declined commenting, citing student privacy. Bacon and supporters, including Brimm valedictorian Taniya Aviles, appealed to McCombs and the advisory school board at its meeting Tuesday night to reconsider.

“We are family. We do not shun or lock out,” said Karen Borrelli, a health and physical education teacher at Brimm. “We would love to see Titus remain with us.”

The next day, after a meeting with McCombs, Bacon’s family said he was placed on home instruction pending the outcome of a Harassment Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) investigation. Districts are required to investigate such reported incidents within 10 days.

Bacon, 17, was enrolled in Brimm, a magnet high school, since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Brimm’s campus includes Camden High and two other high schools.

Bacon said he had to get four stitches in his mouth because of injuries suffered during the game, was dizzy and nauseated for several days, and was treated for a possible concussion. When he returned to Brimm for the first time on Monday, Bacon said, school officials informed him that he had been transferred to Eastside and they refused to let him enter.

“I definitely feel like I’m being turned from being a victim to a villain,” Bacon said. “I feel drained physically, emotionally, and mentally. I just want it to be over.”

The Camden High team is under investigation by the NJSIAA after an NJ.com report that the team was put together with star players who did not live in the district. An NJSIAA hearing on the matter has been postponed indefinitely as a judge granted the school district a stay and the case is in appeals court.

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