EAST ST. LOUIS – The fallout from Tuesday's fight in the stands at East St. Louis' Clyde Jordan Stadium at the Southwestern Conference Boys Track and Field Championship meet continues to mount.
Earlier Thursday, Southwestern Conference athletic directors decided to cancel the league's meet, citing what the league said were “time constraints, availability of venues and the required logistics attached to a meet of this magnitude” as the reason the meet was being called off after being initially suspended after the brawl Tuesday evening.
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Later on Thursday, East St. Louis, citing the participation in the fight by several of its athletes who ran into the stands to join the brawl, announced that the Flyers' season had been ended. The Flyers were expected by many to be a contender for the state Class 2A championship this year; the termination of the season means that the Flyers will not be in next week's Class 2A Sectional meet in Lincoln.
In a statement, East St. Louis School District 187 officials said:
“While the investigation is still ongoing, it has been confirmed that members of the Flyers track team contributed to the escalation of the altercation at the meet held on May 9, 2018. Therefore, we are ending the boys' track season immediately. Further consequences will be given to individuals in the incident, in accordance with our discipline policy.
“Our Code of Conduct outlines expectations of student behavior; the actions that some student-athletes engaged in on May 9th do not uphold our values. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for all of our students and athletes.”
The statement also said that security concerns would be examined and adjusted in the wake of the fight “Safety remains the top priority for District 189,” the statement continued. “We constantly evaluate and adjust our methods for improving the safety for students, staff and patrons at our athletic and other public events. Additionally, the East St. Louis Police Department has committed to making a stronger presence at all future sporting events and we are reaching out to the (Illinois) State Police and the (St. Clair County) Sherrif's Department to request their presence as well.”
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