After pictures of players with profanity-laced messages directed at rival schools showed up on social media this week, Orange County Public Schools director of athletics, Lonnie Flores, stepped in and issued an admonishment to all county athletic directors and handed out punishment to the players involved.
Four players from Evans were shown in a photo in front of a white board that had “F— Jones,” written on it. And a single player from Edgewater was pictured in front of a white board that read, “F— Evans, F— TFA, F— Lake Nona, F— Jones.”
The memo from Flores stated that those players involved in the photos would be suspended for this week’s Kickoff Classic games. The games are exhibitions and do not count toward the teams’ records.
The Sentinel received a copy of his memo to OCPS athletic directors from an anonymous source:
AD’s,
We seem to have Student Athletes that cannot get sportsmanship. He have had two posts from two schools with Athletes in Football Uniform with F (Name School) on a white board in the background. Those Athletes are missing the KOC due to Student Code of Conduct. Please get this under control before these posts get more students for more games. Please share with all coaches.
Lonnie Flores, M. Ed, CMAA, CIC
Director, Athletics and Wellness Services
Orange County
PS Public Schools
The district responded to an interview request for Flores with an email from public information officer Michael Ollendorff.
“Orange County Public Schools does not comment on individual student discipline matters in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). … OCPS has zero tolerance for behavior that disrespects, harasses, or demeans others. We are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for all students and staff.”
When reached for comment, Evans coach Karlos Odum said he knew nothing about the letter. He said, as far as he knew, all of his players would be available Friday when the team makes a road trip to the Big Bend to play a preseason game at Wakulla. Evans athletic director Greg Thompson did not respond to a text message.
Edgewater coach Patrick Browning and athletic director Nick Tomcykosi also did not respond to an email or text. Their team plays Armwood, from the Tampa area, in a Friday night home preseason game.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
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