Charleston, South Carolina High School Football Coaches fired for “Watermelon Ritual”

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Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports
by Jeff Fisher

As the 2014 season heads toward the postseason, another headline-grabbing story to report tonight about a coach being fired for a post-game celebration that is being called inappropriate.

According to CNN, in Charleston, South Carolina, Academic Magnet High School has fired head football coach Bud Walpole was fired after a “watermelon ritual” was reported to the school board by a parent.

Here’s an excerpt from the story…

“Players would gather in a circle and smash the watermelon while others were either standing in a group or locking arms and making chanting sounds described as, ‘Ooh, ooh, ooh,'” school district Superintendent Nancy McGinley said, describing the noises as “monkey sounds.” The watermelon was decorated with caricatures drawn with Sharpie markers, she added.

So far, over 4,000 people have signed a Change.org petition in support of Coach Walpole being reinstated.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.