What they’re saying:

PHILADELPHIA – “I think we definitely made progress. Hopefully, they make the right decision to take away the suspension,” said Brandon Alexander, the running back/linebacker for Abraham Lincoln High School. 

“We just want a fair opportunity at clearing our name from whatever allegations maybe arising and painting us in a certain light that is just not true,” said Tim DiGiorgio, the Assistant Coach of the Abraham Lincoln High Football Team. 

The parents, coaches, and players were able to provide the district video that they believe shows the brawl starting because of Northeast High School parents. 

“Some Northeast parents in the stands came running down on the field trying to attack one of our coaches. We were simply going to protect our coach, its family,” said Alexander. 

“As an away team, those are our steps, so we should have clear steps to be able to exit and enter the premises, we were just trying to get out of the game,” said DiGiorgio.

What we know:

The district has stated the Northeast High School team was not involved in the altercation. 

There is a separate active investigation with the Philadelphia Police Department. 

Police say a school safety officer may have sustained a broken wrist during the incident. 

What’s next:

Northeast Detectives are reviewing video footage as part of their investigation to identify those involved that day.

Members of the school district say they’ll take the new information provided to determine if the current punishment is appropriate. 

“We are going to take a look at what they get us and have an opportunity for us to potentially modify that with what was done. Take a look at it clearly, but I also say very clearly that what we saw on video we’re not condoning that type of behavior,” said Tomas Hanna, of the school district. 

The Abraham Lincoln High School football team is hoping the district will change the decision. 

“I felt like we were heard, I just hope that the right decision is made. The right decision morally is not to penalize the kids let’s eliminate the fans if that’s a problem,” said DiGiorgio.

“It means everything, it’s my last opportunity to make a name for myself to go off and play in college, it means everything,” said Alexander.

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