Gainesville football appealing GHSA suspension of 39 players after brawl

Gainesville football coach on suspension: 'If you didn't get to see the whole thing, you don't have any idea'

Gainesville officials are appealing a 39 player suspension that stemmed from a fight, arguing some players didn’t participate.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) suspended 39 Gainesville football players following a bench-clearing fight that erupted during Friday’s playoff game against Brunswick. Gainesville’s football coach and athletic director say they’re appealing the suspensions, hoping some will be overturned.

Gainesville and Brunswick football brawl

The backstory:

The penalties stem from a third-quarter brawl that broke out with Gainesville leading 42-0. Video shows a Brunswick defender pulling off two helmets and hitting a Gainesville player, triggering a surge of players from both sidelines. Officials ended the game with 1:57 left, awarding Gainesville the win.

Gainesville coach, athletic director address suspensions

What they're saying:

Gainesville Athletic Director Adam Lindsey said the officials should have stepped in sooner.

"Well, I’ve made no bones about it that the game was out of hand very early," Lindsey said. "I was very concerned when we went 28-0 — it was getting very chippy. It wasn’t really being managed the right way from an official standpoint. I was concerned about that and was worried about something exactly like that happening."

Lindsey said he even warned his players before the incident.

"Before the incident even happened, I just spoke to our guys about, ‘Hey, look, we still got a whole ’nother quarter to go, and they’re down 42 to nothing. So just be ready, and if something happens, just walk away from it.’"

He added that social media videos of the fight don’t tell the full story.

Watch the full interview

Coach, athletic director address Gainesville football brawl

GHSA suspended 39 Gainesville players after a playoff brawl with Brunswick. Gainesville officials are appealing, arguing some players didn’t participate. A hearing will be held Tuesday as both teams face fines for the incident.

"There’s obviously been some really strong videos that show exactly what happened and how bad it was," Lindsey said. "If you weren’t there, you don’t see the whole picture of what happened all night long."

Head Football Coach Josh Niblett said the players’ reaction was about loyalty, not aggression.

"I’m going to ask you a question," Niblett said. "Something happened on the field, and your sister or brother was on the field, and you felt like they were being taken advantage of or they couldn’t defend themselves — what would you do? You’re going to do what’s natural. Our kids didn’t go out there to instigate anything. Our kids went out there to have each other’s back and protect each other."

Hearing for Gainesville football players

What's next:

The GHSA will hold a hearing Tuesday morning in Thomaston to review Gainesville’s appeal. If it stands, the 39 players couldn't play in the Class 5A quarterfinal matchup against top-ranked Hughes on Friday, superintendent Jeremy Williams said.

Executive Director Tim Scott said both programs will face fines, though amounts have not yet been finalized. Under GHSA rules, fights, bench departures, and failures in institutional oversight can draw fines between $1,000 and $2,500.

"Honestly, I told them, you can fine us whatever you want to. I don’t really care about that," Lindsey said. "But I don’t want you to take these quarterfinals away from these players that earned it."

Lindsey said he hopes the board will reinstate players he believes were wrongly suspended.

"Our 11 defensive players that were on the field didn’t participate in the altercation. But because they were on the field, they were still suspended," he said. "The two kids that had their helmet ripped off and got punched and got speared were still suspended. They did nothing."

Brunswick players facing suspension

The other side:

Brunswick players will also face suspensions, but the exact number has not been released.