Morgan Park football players, parents protest canceled postseason amid coaching dispute

Yeah, Morgan Park High ended the football team's season without warning, no heads up. So today, parents, students, and alumni showed up to protest. They want answers. Tia Ewing examines the conflicting accounts, and many families say the players are paying the price. These students aren't protesting a loss on the football field. They're protesting a decision made off of it. Morgan Park's football season is over, and families want answers. Ranked 6th in Illinois Class 5A and 47th statewide, according to MaxPreps, the Mustangs are back-to-back city champions, but their prep bowl opportunity is gone amid a dispute over head coach Chris James. Coach C.J. did not resign at all. He never made a statement. But Principal Dan Kuzma tells a different story. In a letter to families, he says James had announced plans to leave and accepted another coaching position. After nine years leading the program, Kuzma says the transition makes it impractical to continue. And part of the letter reads, given the transition in leadership atop Morgan Park's football program, it is not viable to compete in the optional after-season upcoming prep bowl sequence. Two conflicting accounts. So was James fired or was he leaving? And why couldn't an interim coach finish the season? I pressed the sister, Kalia James, on the impact of students. She's the former head coach's sister. That the principal, Dan Kuzma, says the coach was leaving for another job. The coach says he never accepted one and he never resigned. And obviously now the players are caught in the middle. The boys are devastated. They have taken away opportunities, recruitment opportunities for them, scholarships. And now another concern. Parents of student athletes claim players lost access to their huddle account, used to share game film with college recruiters. It just messes with the morale. It messes with kids who are trying to get into college. who need those huddle footages and videos so that they can share those with college recruiters. Number 13 four-star safety Darrell Madison has already committed to Ole Miss, but other players are still seeking college opportunities. The principal says the team completed its state playoff run and the prep bowl is optional. A new coach, though, isn't expected until January 1st. But the question remains, was the ending of the season necessary or were students caught in the middle of an adult dispute? We think that this is unfair, and they deserve this opportunity to continue to play. They earned it. They ended the season. We cannot compete in our prep bowl. We concluded Saturday for the state championship, but we still had the opportunity to play in the prep bowl. Fox 32 did reach out to the principal and CPS for additional answers. We have not received a response to those additional questions. No questions. Tia Ewing, Fox Chicago.