Massillon player arrested on a months-old charge the week of the team’s big game against Hoban and is released in time to play in the game.
A standout football player for the Massillon Tigers was arrested Thursday on a months-old assault charge and released in time to help defeat Archbishop Hoban in a championship game Friday night.
On Aug. 4, a witness told police he saw the 17-year-old Washington High School senior run up to a 58-year-old man on a bicycle in the Popeyes parking lot in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood. The football player, whose age, weight and high school match the description on the arrest report, is accused of delivering a single punch to the man’s head.
There’s no reference in the police report to the events that unfolded immediately before the altercation. Akron detectives who worked the case were not available Sunday to provide more details.
The report says paramedics found the man unconscious on the ground with swelling, bleeding and what would be diagnosed at Summa Akron City Hospital as a skull fracture.
“(The victim) was hospitalized for over one month and still suffers from the brain injury,” according to Akron police.
Police said a surveillance camera captured a young man, who they believe to be the Massillon football player, at the scene of the assault. The suspect is seen running to and from the altercation, though the footage apparently did not capture the punch. The teen is last seen heading northbound on Howard Street.
The football player charged with the assault has been featured multiple times in the media for his accolades on the field, first in Akron then in Massillon.
Hoban Coach Tim Tyrrell declined to comment about the arrest or the impact it could have retroactively on the Division II regional championship game should the Ohio High School Athletic Association review the matter.
Tyrrell did say the player in question, who started for St. Vincent-St. Mary before going to Massillon this summer, always struck him as “a pretty good kid.” Reporters who covered the student-athlete agreed.
The player was booked Thursday in the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center, on the eve of the championship game.
Massillon school officials refused to comment on the individual student, whose name is not being reported in this story because he is a juvenile and, at this time, is not being charged as an adult.
“The Massillon City School District recognizes that student privacy is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. We will continue to pride ourselves on the consistent application of this student and family centered law,” the school district told Beacon Journal news partner News 5 Cleveland.
The player, who grew up in Akron, was permitted to participate in the Division II regional championship game Friday at InfoCision Stadium in Akron. Massillon won 17-14.
Attempts to track the criminal case in the juvenile court system or directly contact the player or a guardian were unsuccessful. The player’s Facebook profile, which features him standing in his football jersey, has only one post in the last 24 hours.
“ALL PRAISE BE TO GOD NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES 🙏🏽. HE GIVE HIS STRONGEST ANGELS THE HARDER BATTLES 🙏🏽💯,” says the account that appears to belong to the football player.
“Keep your head up and ignore all the bs,” a supporter responded in the comments. “I can imagine this is a challenging task right now. My daughter knows you and from what I have heard you are an awesome person and are truly genuine. No matter what we have your back because We Are Massillon, and so are you!”
Breaking from routine, Massillon’s coaching staff did not permit reporters to interview players Friday after the championship game, which ended the Hoban Knights’ 22-game playoff winning streak.
Student handbooks for Massillon City Schools require athletes in junior high and elementary schools to be “good” citizens. At Washington High School, the handbook requires only that athletes are under 20 years old and maintain minimum academic standards.
The high school’s student code of conduct outlines a “zero-tolerance policy” for violence:
“The (school) Board believes that the best discipline is self-imposed and that students should learn to assume responsibility for their own behavior and the consequences of their actions,” according to the handbook. “The Board has zero tolerance of violent, disruptive or inappropriate behavior by its students.”
Reach Beacon Journal reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.