MIAMI - A championship football program is on the line as Miami-Dade County school officials discuss suspending Miami Northwestern Senior High School's team for the 2007 season.
The school has been under fire since its principal was charged with official misconduct, accused of covering up a sex scandal involving a football player.
"They shouldn't suspend the whole football team," said student Monique Ramsay.
"All the kids, they shouldn't suffer like this," parent Maria Cox said. "It would be horrible."
But what's worse, according to Florida High School Athletic Association Commissioner John Stewart, is the scandal surrounding the Bulls' star football player, Antwain Easterling. He's accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl on a school bathroom floor.
"You have a very egregious act that took place on the school grounds by one of the players, and the player was not dealt with properly by school officials," Stewart said.
Northwestern's former principal, Dwight Bernard, is facing federal charges on his handling of the matter. He has pleaded not guilty to official misconduct. His trial is scheduled for early October.
Meanwhile, Stewart said Miami-Dade County school officials contacted him last week about the possible suspension.
"There's never been a time that I can recall when a cover-up of this nature has taken place," Stewart said. "They did not deal with it appropriately, and they did not deal with it in a timely manner."
As for the football players hoping to get college scholarships based on their high school performance, Stewart said they could transfer schools if the program is suspended.
"If they want the students to transfer, then they would request the transfer or make reassignments and then their request for eligibility would be sent to this office," he said.
Superintendent Rudy Crew is expected to make a decision at a school board meeting on Wednesday.
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Thurston said if the football program is suspended, he and others will protest.
"We are not going to stand for this as a community," Thurston said. "We will stand up 24/7 to make sure that this doesn't happen."
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