Daniel Hand Football Game Canceled Over “Inappropriate Behavior”

A high school football game has been canceled after members of the Daniel Hand High School junior varsity team engaged in “inappropriate behavior” in the school locker room and on the bus, according to school Superintendent Tomas Scarice.

Scarice said the incident was not related to hazing and that it happened on the school bus and in the locker room, not on the Madison team's football field. He declined to elaborate on the details of the incident, citing student privacy.

The JV game scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1 has been canceled as a result, but the Saturday, Oct. 25 game is still on. Some players, however, are banned from playing in today's game. According to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Daniel Hand would have been up against Xavier High School that day.

"Whether it's a big or small incident, we don't want things to get out of hand," said First Selectman Fillmore McPherson, who discussed the allegations with Scarice on Thursday.

All football players on the freshman, JV and varsity teams must now attend a mandatory meeting run by the school principal and athletic director to discuss behavioral expectations that are “not negotiable,” Scarice said. Players’ positions on the team will be jeopardized if they don’t show up.

Coaches and players must also undergo sensitivity training, according to Scarice.

"This is not the way the typical team goes in Madison," McPherson said. "The student athletes are very caring for each other. ... It's my understanding that Coach [Steve] Filippone is using the varsity players, the captains of his varsity team, to help get on top of this, to make sure they set the right example for the younger players."

McPherson said the superintendent, principal and police chief are working together to address the incident.

Carrie Hick, the parent of a Daniel Hand student, described her "surprise and shock" after learning about the allegations.

"This team plays with the highest moral fiber of any football team I've ever seen," she said. "I come to see them because they play with such heart and soul, so I'm stunned."

Nonetheless, Hick said she has full confidence in the school's response to the incident.

"Maybe the JV players aren't trained quite as well and they're going to learn," she speculated. "I'm sure the coaching staff will handle it to the fullest extent and all the kids will know what's expected of them to be a Hand Tiger."

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