Bishop Sycamore Head Coach Tyren Jackson addressed questions surrounding the Ohio-based football program Monday, after Bishop Sycamore made headlines following an appearance on ESPN last week.
Speaking with WCMH Columbus, Jackson clarified that Bishop Sycamore was not a high school.
“We are not a school,” said Jackson, who replaced fired Head Coach Roy Johnson this week. “That’s not what Bishop Sycamore is, and I think that’s what the biggest misconception about us was, and that was our fault. Because that was a mistake on paperwork.”
Jackson was asked about the school’s spurious filing with the Ohio Board of Education, but he refused to comment, citing the fact that he was hired after the paperwork was filed. (RELATED: REPORT: Kevin Hart Is Making A Documentary About The Bishop Sycamore Football Team)
“I won’t speak on stuff I don’t know about,” He said. “If it was something that happened like that, then that’s terrible. That’s not how you do business.”
Jackson did say that the school would not be filing paperwork to be considered a school for the current school year, and that he intends to cooperate with an upcoming investigation by the state of Ohio.
Bishop Sycamore made national headlines in August when the program deceived ESPN into broadcasting its game against national powerhouse IMG Academy. IMG won the game 58-0. It was later revealed that the team had lied to ESPN about the recruitment and age of its players, and that it had just played another game two days earlier.
Jackson said that the “post-grad football academy” was still practicing. He asked media and observers to take it easy on the players.
“Don’t attack these kids. Don’t take that part from them, now that they don’t have a season, possibly. Once the smoke clears, we’re national news. Whoever does schedule us next will be national news,” he said.