ST. LOUIS 鈥 Several football players from Cardinal Ritter College Prep in 最新杏吧原创 were pepper sprayed by police in Ohio after a 28-14 loss to Washington High in Massillon on Friday night.
A video circulating on social media shows officers spraying a chemical into the eyes of Cardinal Ritter players after a scuffle broke out in the handshake line following the contest.
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Cardinal Ritter sophomore defensive back D.J. Ross was hit with the substance, and a teammate appeared to try and rinse Ross鈥 eyes with water from a bottle.
Ross鈥 mother, Ashley Ashburn, commented on X on Monday regarding the incident.
鈥淎s a mother, my heart is heavy writing this,鈥 Ashburn said. 鈥淢y son, D.J., who came to play football and represent his school with pride, was maced by police. No child should have to experience this after simply walking off the field.
鈥淚鈥檓 thankful he is safe and still standing tall.鈥
The video appears to show the officers singling out the Ritter players. No Washington High players were sprayed. Sports Illustrated that the police response came after a player was shoved while the teams were shaking hands.
Cardinal Ritter鈥檚 president, Tamiko Armstead, released a statement saying, 鈥淲e are aware of the incident that occurred at the Massillon football game last week and we are very troubled by the video of what happened.鈥
Armstead also said she is assisting Cardinal Ritter parents in filing complaints against the Massillon Police Department.
鈥淥ur concern is for our scholar athletes and their well-being from these unfortunate events,鈥 she said.
Massillon Washington is a seven-time state finalist and won Ohio鈥檚 Division II state championship in 2023.
Cardinal Ritter (2-3) won Missouri state championships in 2022 (Class 3) and 2023 (Class 5) and is No. 3 in the latest Missouri Media football rankings in Class 5, the state鈥檚 second-largest classification.
The game was the first between the schools and the second successive season Cardinal Ritter has played a national opponent on the road. Last season, it won 36-20 at Louisiana power New Orleans St. Augustine.
Cardinal Ritter鈥檚 football coach, athletics director and principal did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story; representatives from Massillon police and Washington High School didn鈥檛 either.
