Bishop Sycamore High School
Ryan Cassidy '23 Staff Writer
In Columbus, Ohio, purported high school Bishop Sycamore has conned and lied to people for years in an attempt for fame. Bishop Sycamore was founded in 2018 by Andre Peterson, who played college football at Youngstown State in the 1980s. Peterson wanted to pursue his love for the game by being a coach. The athletes he was coaching, however, were adults who competed against teen athletes under the mascot of an imaginary high school.
Recently, Bishop Sycamore demolished by sports academy high school, IMG. Although the team was made up of men in their twenties, their competition got the best of them. In the midst of a 58-0 game that was being aired live on ESPN, announcers Anish Shroff and Tom Lugibill questioned the legitimacy of the team in the third quarter. Following the game, ESPN announced that Paragon, who schedules the games, said, “We regret that this happened and have discussed it with Paragon, which secured the matchup and handles the majority of our high school's event scheduling.”
Recently, Bishop Sycamore demolished by sports academy high school, IMG. Although the team was made up of men in their twenties, their competition got the best of them. In the midst of a 58-0 game that was being aired live on ESPN, announcers Anish Shroff and Tom Lugibill questioned the legitimacy of the team in the third quarter. Following the game, ESPN announced that Paragon, who schedules the games, said, “We regret that this happened and have discussed it with Paragon, which secured the matchup and handles the majority of our high school's event scheduling.”
Junior soccer and lacrosse player Cyrus Frid said, “I don't think it would be fair, Bishop Sycamore used older athletes who are much more developed than younger athletes. I also don't think it would be fair for someone to schedule that game.” In addition, junior football player Adam Kozikowski said, “I would feel frustrated because older men would be much more physically developed than our team, which is younger and less physically developed and less experienced in football.”
Some would wonder how it took so long for people to realize it was a scam. The team started back in 2018 as Christian of Faith Academy, and tried to join the OHSAA league, a local league in the Cleveland area. Assistant director of OHSAA Ben Feree said he was skeptical when Bishop Sycamore was starting off. Free said, “Immediately, it didn’t pass the smell test. A first-year program with 750 boys? That’s not possible. That doesn’t happen. But they kept saying, ‘No, no, it’s legitimate.” However, no one listened to Feree at the time and now players, teams and coaches are paying the price. Bishop succeeded last year during a Covid-19 riddled season for every team. Teams were struggling to find other teams, which is when coach Roy Johnson swooped in to schedule his team with others.
Bishop Sycamore is still technically a school and is still in session despite just an enrollment of three last year (including founder Peterson’s son, according to him) and a single course offering (a religious studies course taught by Johnson). Roy Johnson has remained constant with his story of just trying to give young men a chance, but people aren't buying it anymore and all of Bishop's opponents have cancelled for the rest of the season. Johnson has also been fired from the organization, and faces several criminal charges related to the scandal as well as his personal finances.
Some would wonder how it took so long for people to realize it was a scam. The team started back in 2018 as Christian of Faith Academy, and tried to join the OHSAA league, a local league in the Cleveland area. Assistant director of OHSAA Ben Feree said he was skeptical when Bishop Sycamore was starting off. Free said, “Immediately, it didn’t pass the smell test. A first-year program with 750 boys? That’s not possible. That doesn’t happen. But they kept saying, ‘No, no, it’s legitimate.” However, no one listened to Feree at the time and now players, teams and coaches are paying the price. Bishop succeeded last year during a Covid-19 riddled season for every team. Teams were struggling to find other teams, which is when coach Roy Johnson swooped in to schedule his team with others.
Bishop Sycamore is still technically a school and is still in session despite just an enrollment of three last year (including founder Peterson’s son, according to him) and a single course offering (a religious studies course taught by Johnson). Roy Johnson has remained constant with his story of just trying to give young men a chance, but people aren't buying it anymore and all of Bishop's opponents have cancelled for the rest of the season. Johnson has also been fired from the organization, and faces several criminal charges related to the scandal as well as his personal finances.