FCPS admits system failures after football recruiting violations

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - After an investigation into improper recruiting practices, Fairfax County Public Schools says that the football programs at Hayfield Secondary School and Fairfax High School violated recruiting rules in 2024. 

FCPS' School Board and Superintendent shared in a letter Wednesday night that "efforts to detect and correct those violations were impeded by gaps in FCPS’s systems and processes and actions taken by some members of FCPS staff." 

The letter laid out improvements to the process for examining new student registrations and training coaching staff and volunteers. Take a look at the list of improvements here. 

The backstory:

A law firm was brought in last winter to conduct an investigation into allegations regarding student athlete transfers and eligibility within FCPS. 

In the fall of 2024, Hayfield Secondary School's athletic director, Monty Fritts, was implicated in text messages suggesting potential misuse of recruiting activities, including exploiting laws designed to protect homeless students.

"For decades, there have been minor violations of the VHSL rules — one or two players moving from one school to another," said School Board Member Mateo Dunne in November 2024. "But this is perhaps the greatest local sports scandal in the history of the Commonwealth. We have 31 players moving in one fell swoop in April 2024 from different schools, including 14 from Freedom High School to Hayfield to play on the football team."

Fritts resigned after the text messages surfaced.

Hayfield Secondry School was suspended by the Virginia High School League from playing in the postseason and playoffs for the following two years over the allegations. The ban was overturned by a judge, prompting multiple high school football coaches to say they would forfeit playoff games if Hayfield was allowed to play. 

Hayfield eventually withdrew from the 2024 football playoffs amidst the investigation into the alleged recruiting violations.