Olney to forfeit Friday game, after brawl

By Rick O’Brien, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: October 11, 2012

Olney Charter was deemed to be "the aggressor" in the brawl that broke out during last Friday's Public League Silver Division football game against visiting Southern.

For their roles in the fight, four Olney players and two volunteer assistant coaches have been removed from the team, District 12 chairman Robert Coleman said. The Trojans also have forfeited Friday's scheduled game vs. Lincoln.

Coleman said that he and the two principals - Olney's Dr. Jose Lebron and Southern's Otis Hackney - "collaborated on this. From the video clip we saw, it was clear that Olney was the aggressor."

The melee, with Southern ahead by 32-8, occurred midway through the fourth quarter. Coleman said "three spectators climbed the fence to get involved. They won't be allowed to watch future athletic events."

Coleman said it was Lebron who decided to forfeit Friday's scheduled contest at Lincoln.

"So many players left Olney's sideline that he decided to DQ [disqualify] the team," Coleman said. "A lot of them [per PIAA rules] would have had to sit out anyway for leaving the sideline to get involved."

No sanctions, Coleman said, came against Southern.

"Their players and fans didn't provoke anything," he said. "Their players stayed together as much as possible, tried to protect each other."

Contact Rick O'Brien at robrien@phillynews.com, or @ozoneinq on Twitter.

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