The Ohio high school football scandal that inspired HBO’s documentary BS High is trying to go on the straight and narrow. Bishop Sycamore is apparently scheduled to play against a team called Life Christian Academy on November 9 at Virginia State University.
This according to a Richmond.com report that cites Life Christian head coach David Fitzgerald as the source. No relation to yours truly. Hat tip to Awful Announcing for putting this on my radar. They also added an interesting detail in the aftermath.
More than a few things here to unpack here. First of all, Roy Johnson is a scumbag conman and the most fraudulent human being you’re ever bound to see footage of. Check out the BS High trailer below. You’ll get the picture. Johnson conned his way into a nationally televised game on ESPN in which IMG Academy waxed Bishop Sycamore 58-0.
As for the Richmond dot com report, oh my. Buckle up, y’all.
The leading image on that webpage shows off “senior running back A.J. Turner” carrying the ball in Life Christian’s first local game of the season. As if to imply that Turner is still on the team, which allegedly has multiple Division I prospects. Turner now plays at Marshall.
Having a dated caption — assuming the best-case scenario here — at the start of your report is not the best look. So we’ve got a pseudo-factual error coming out of the gates, regarding a story about the biggest scam high school sports has ever seen.
This guy David Fitzgerald is apparently the first-year head coach at Life Christian. To reiterate, no relation to me. How blissfully ignorant do you have to be to open your arms to Bishop Sycamore? Read how D-Fitzy broke it all down to Richmond dot com reporter Zach Joachim:
“Bishop Sycamore, they’re in a rebuilding process, and they basically have worked with a very reputable company that matches high school football games up. […] They’re looking to rebound and possibly enter into a league we play in.
We needed to fill a game, and we were presented with the opportunity. We spoke with their coaching staff and felt comfortable that they were legitimately moving forward in the right direction.
“We’re a Christian school, we believe in second chances, and we wanted to make this happen.”
My man, did you watch the mere trailer for BS High? Do you see how Roy Johnson managed to lie his way through everything and get on ESPN? Then parlay that into an HBO documentary?
I’m assuming this member of a different set of Fitzgerald family tree branches lives in a fantasy world where everyone’s redeemable. Regarding Bishop Sycamore, Fitzgerald gives us two doozy excerpts that scream of red flags.
No. 1: “They basically have worked with a very reputable company.”
No. 2: “We spoke with their coaching staff and felt comfortable that they were legitimately moving forward in the right direction.”
Fitzgerald uses the excuse that his team can’t get enough games scheduled in-state as part of the rationale for agreeing to this farce. Life Christian plays 70% of games out-of-state, per the report. They can’t compete for a state championship in Virginia since they don’t play locally often enough.
OK fine. But you’re a one-win football team. You ain’t going to the playoffs, much less states. Give me a break. So you had a game to fill. Chose quite literally any other opponent in the world.
What is this, a cheap ploy for publicity? You really want to hitch your wagon to Bishop Sycamore of all institutions!?
Such a classic shortsighted, instant-gratification move that so much of modern society is predicated on. I hope Bishop Sycamore pulls the wool over Life Christian Academy’s eyes. Do it again, Roy Johnson! Teach these cats a lesson. Show them how to get a clue about the true way of the world.
Fun side note: The last thing Fitzgerald posted on X/Twitter was from April 2. It’s a preseason hype trailer featuring all of one Life Christian player, where Fitzgerald claims they’re ready to shock the world.
Try not to laugh at this next part. According to MaxPreps, Life Christian proceeded to open the 2023 season with an 87-0 loss to Imhotep Charter out of Philadelphia. You read that correctly. Sure gives me Bishop Sycamore-type vibes.
Imhotep Charter is listed by MaxPreps as the fourth-ranked team in Pennsylvania, so yeah, tough matchup. And look, I get it, Fitzgerald is fighting an uphill battle here. One win on the season, struggling to play a full schedule. That’s an unenviable position to be in. Just don’t get duped by Bishop Sycamore, sir!
I’ll play you out with my buddy/ex-coworker Chris Klemmer laying into Roy Johnson a couple months back.
Sure seems like Roy is still Bishop Sycamore’s coach. Imagine agreeing to play against him with all the information that’s out there on how much of a charlatan he is.
Have some pride and/or decency, Life Christian Academy. Don’t do it.
