More than 200 California high school students walked out of class to protest a football captain’s social media post, putting school officials under scrutiny as the team prepares to forfeit its next game.
The Friday protest at Piner Junior Senior High School in Santa Rosa followed an Instagram post the captain shared earlier this month. It read, “Free the Cornell 7,” a phrase linked to seven students accused of gang-raping a Cornell University student at a fraternity party in 2024.
According to The Press Democrat, students organized the walkout because they believed the captain had not faced adequate consequences for the post.
An anonymous parent of a Piner cheerleader told the newspaper that the captain was prohibited from attending a team dinner Thursday. The parent said, however, that it was unclear whether the student had received any other disciplinary action. School officials have not publicly detailed their full response.
The controversy comes as Piner’s football program deals with a separate setback. The Prospectors forfeited their scheduled Saturday game against Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo.
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Head coach Adam Rosenstein told The Press Democrat that only five healthy linemen were available. The forfeit was confirmed Friday evening.
The forfeiture leaves Piner with a 2-4 overall record and an 0-2 record in conference play, according to MaxPreps.
The Piner walkout took place as protests were also held in Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia over the Cornell case. Demonstrators have accused the university of mishandling its investigation into the rape allegations.
At Piner, the immediate conflict is focused on the football captain’s post and whether school officials responded appropriately.
The available reports do not confirm whether officials imposed any additional discipline beyond barring the captain from the team dinner, SFGATE reported.