The McClatchy and Kennedy high school football teams will forfeit their games this weekend as a consequence for the altercation between players last Friday, SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said today.

“I believe this action is necessary to ensure that an incident of this sort is not repeated in Sacramento City Unified,” Superintendent Raymond said. “This kind of behavior is against the tenets of good sportsmanship and will not be tolerated in our community. There is no excuse for what transpired.  Both teams need to earn back the respect they lost on the field last weekend. I feel strongly that athletics in our district is a privilege not a right.”

Coaches, athletic directors, principals and administrators met this morning to discuss the fight that ended the rare night game at Kennedy. A video of the final five minutes was reviewed and all involved were given an opportunity to suggest appropriate consequences.

Those in attendance agreed that coaches, ADs and team captains will come together this week for a sportsmanship summit. In addition, the two teams will participate together in a community service event (to be determined) this weekend.

Each school is also determining appropriate disciplinary actions for individual students involved.

Earlier today, principals of both schools notified faculty, students, parents and staff of the forfeiture and other actions.

“This is an embarrassment for our community and we are all anxious to put it behind us,” Superintendent Raymond said. “The best outcome is that we use the incident as a teachable moment, and that these teams, schools and all of our students emerge as champions of good sportsmanship.”