Ironton Football Team Protests Playoff Exclusion

Ironton, Ohio – The Ironton Fighting Tigers football team and their supporters held a protest Friday morning outside the Ironton School Board office after learning they would not be allowed to participate in the state playoffs. The announcement came from the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Thursday.

“We are out here fighting for our right to play in the state playoffs,” said senior Zayne Williams, a running back and linebacker. “It has been taken away from us by some individuals who haven’t got what they want in life and it has come back on these kids.”

Despite the playoff ban, the team is still allowed to play their regular season games. Williams expressed his frustration, saying, “It is very unfair, and I don’t think it has been completely brought to attention what is going on and why we are in the position we are in now.”

Megan Cockrell, the mother of quarterback Kayden Edwards, joined the protest wrapped in a blanket and holding coffee against the October chill. “We are here because our boys have been kicked out of the playoffs and they deserve to play,” she stated. “These kids did nothing wrong. They worked all year to play the sport they love. They deserve to keep going on like everybody else.”

Cockrell mentioned that the protest was organized late Thursday night after the team received the distressing news. “My son called me last night, hyperventilating after practice when they were told the news,” she said. “We had to do something. We can’t let this happen to these boys.”

She added that if the situation isn’t resolved quickly, they will continue to protest. “If we have to keep coming down here, I sure will,” she said.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association was contacted by The Ironton Tribune for clarification regarding the denial of the playoff spot. The organization indicated that they would release more information later on Friday. The Tribune will continue to update this story as more developments arise.