Bishop Sycamore High School scandal

The Centurions suffered lopsided losses in all six of their games in 2020, but their lack of success did not hinder their ability to schedule marquee games against elite preparatory and high schools. The televised game against IMG Academy was the second time they had played the school, following a similar 56–6 loss in 2020. Their 2021 schedule was ranked the fourth most difficult of any high school team in the United States. In the wake of the scandal surrounding the game, Bishop Sycamore's remaining opponents canceled their games against the team.

Pre-scandal background

Complex also conducted an anonymous interview with two former Bishop Sycamore students. They revealed that then head coach, Leroy Johnson, recruited the students with the prospect of "practicing at Ohio State's facilities". In reality, they held practices outside of an apartment complex that housed students at Ohio State. The team also did not have athletic trainers, which resulted in the athletes playing injured. The apartments housing the students frequently evicted them after Johnson failed to pay rent. Many players had already graduated from high school and there "were four or five kids that were 20, 21, [and] had children of their own". A number of players had legal issues; at one point so many players had active arrest warrants that the team could not fly to away games. One player joined the team immediately after being released from jail. The team also struggled with camaraderie; a former player claimed there were at least five fights at every practice.

Christians of Faith Academy

The school was originally founded as Christians of Faith Academy (COF) in 2018. A federal investigation into COF was opened regarding use of counterfeit currency, credit and debit card fraud, computer fraud, and other crimes. It was shut down after just one season and became Bishop Sycamore. Leroy Johnson, the former head coach, claims that they had ties to the Third District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME church) and had plans to build a "massive campus". Johnson was a business-development director for the Richard Allen Group, the financial arm of the AME church. Johnson later used COF and the church's name during his attempts to sell life insurance. The AME church has denied having any connection with the school, but an investigation by The Columbus Dispatch found a trail of emails and bank statements that documented the connections between the AME church and the school, which was initially established in an effort to provide opportunities to disadvantaged youth. Whatever ties the AME church had to the school were severed by fall 2018.

Bishop Sycamore High School scandal